


Snow Falls, Love Rises

by heyjupiter



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Politics, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Bruce is the Mayor of Snow Falls, But I Am the Mayor of Trope City, Christmas, Communication, Gen, Happy Ending, Inspired by Hallmark Christmas Movies, M/M, MHEA Hallmark 2019, Minor Carol Danvers/James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Minor Jane Foster/Thor, Minor Pepper Potts/Natasha Romanov, Minor Scott Lang/Hope Van Dyne, Miscommunication, Snowed In
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-01-27 17:17:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 35,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21395809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyjupiter/pseuds/heyjupiter
Summary: Tony Stark's ambitious new plan to convert all of his factories to manufacture solar panels and other green energy technologies causes some concern in the small town of Snow Falls, Ohio: the home of the StarKids toy factory. Despite the toy factory's popularity, the town's Green Party mayor, Bruce Banner, actually supports the solar panel initiative.However, Bruce's deputy mayor Darcy Lewis goes behind his back to invite Tony to be the grand marshal of the town's annual Winter Joy Toy Parade, in an attempt to convince Tony to preserve the toy factory. Tony accepts, secretly hoping to use the event as an opportunity to reconnect with Bruce. Unbeknownst to the citizens of Snow Falls, Bruce and Tony haven't spoken to each other since their boarding school romance came to an abrupt end. Can their love be rekindled, or is it as dead as a string of vintage Christmas tree lights?
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Tony Stark
Comments: 97
Kudos: 78
Collections: Bruce Banner Bingo 2019, MHEA Holiday Movie Challenge 2019





	1. Do You Hear What I Hear?

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Prompt #13 for the [Marvel Happily Ever After Hallmark Challenge](https://heamarvel.tumblr.com/promptsbadges): "Character A inherited a toy factory. The town needs the factory to stay open, but they have no interest in being tied to their hometown. Especially when they find out that Character B - who broke their heart in high school - is the town’s mayor."
> 
> I took some liberties with it but that's the core story.
> 
> It's also for the "Roommates" square on my [Bruce Banner Bingo card](https://twentyghosts.tumblr.com/brucebingo).
> 
> Thanks to volunteerfd for beta reading (and for constantly reassuring me that any time I thought this story was approaching Too Much, it was still well within the allowable limits set by the Hallmark Christmas movie genre).
> 
> This work is complete and I'll be posting updates on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Happy holidays!
> 
> Content note: This work contains vague references to past child abuse/domestic violence, though it's lighter than in canon.

Bruce was half-asleep with a new biography of Rosalind Franklin resting on his chest when his phone chimed loudly. He sat up in bed with a start, to the displeasure of his dog, Cosmo, who'd been sleeping tucked up under his armpit. Bruce offered him a consoling ear scratch and grabbed his phone off the nightstand. After 10 PM, his "do not disturb" settings only allowed notifications from a select few individuals. A message at this time usually meant some kind of town emergency.

**Text message from Darcy Lewis**: Boss, are you watching the Daily Show???

**Text message from Bruce Banner**: No, I'm asleep

**Text message from Darcy Lewis**: Wake up and turn it on! 

Maybe Bruce should reevaluate his emergency contacts list. But as flighty as his deputy mayor could be, she didn't usually bug Bruce after hours unless it was important. 

**Text message from Darcy Lewis**: Now!

Bruce pulled on his slippers and padded downstairs to the living room. He turned on Comedy Central and froze in his tracks. Even before Bruce had stumbled sideways into a career in local politics, he'd always been very private about his personal life. No one knew about his high school boyfriend, not even his mom. So why had Darcy instructed him to get up out of bed to watch the boy who'd broken Bruce's heart fifteen years ago?

Bruce collapsed onto the couch and watched dumbstruck as Tony Stark bantered with Trevor Noah. Not only was he a genius billionaire philanthropist, he was still incredibly hot in his graphic T-shirt and studiously casual blazer that probably cost more than anything Bruce owned, including his car. Obviously, Tony couldn't see Bruce through the TV, but he still wished he were wearing something nicer than his worn flannel pajama pants and OSU T-Shirt.

The segment was already halfway over and Bruce was too surprised to focus on it, but he finally understood why Darcy had told him to turn it on. Tony was playing with a small drone. Bruce recognized the toy immediately as one of his friend Hope van Dyne's most recent creations. She ran the StarKids toy factory, the biggest employer in Snow Falls, and she was always coming up with new innovations. 

A lot of the factories in the Rust Belt had closed over the years, but StarKids was still going strong, thanks in no small part to Hope's brilliant designs. The drones had been particularly successful, and local kids had played with them all summer long. Their impressive carrying capacity lent them to squirt gun warfare, which occasionally hit innocent adult bystanders. But most people didn't mind; summer in Ohio was hot. The drones had mostly gone into storage after the school year began, though you still saw one here and there. Kids used them to send each other snacks, notes, and all manner of objects weighing less than twenty pounds.

But—_god, focus, Bruce_—what were they talking about? On the screen, Trevor said incredulously, "So you're telling me you had no idea you even owned this factory? I mean, I get losing track of one's umbrella, one's keys or wallet even, but how do you just lose a factory?"

Tony laughed. "I know, I know, first world problems, I guess. I'll have to look into this! I work very closely with Stark Industries R&D—get ready for the solar powered StarkPhone, coming soon!" The studio audience cheered, and Tony graciously waited for them to quiet down before continuing, "But yes, I was in some ways very lucky to inherit so many properties after my parents' tragic death, but keep in mind, I was only a teenager when that happened, so of course a lot of the day to day operations of Stark Industries were run on my behalf by, you know, grownups. And I guess maybe there's still a box of paperwork somewhere I still haven't gone through. So, no, I have no idea how my father came to own some random toy factory in Ohio. But I'll tell you what, Trevor, I'll look into it and you can have me back on your show to discuss my findings, how about that? Who knows, maybe I'll bring back some toys for all the good little boys and girls?"

Bruce swallowed. Tony owned enough factories that he could just entirely forget about one of them, while Bruce lived at home with his mom. (Not that he would complain about that—he was endlessly grateful that his mom was still around for him to live with. After he'd finished his PhD, his mom had been diagnosed with cancer and he'd come to take care of her while he figured out his next steps. But his mom had been in remission for three years now and he'd accidentally gotten elected mayor of his hometown. There were certainly worse problems to have, he knew.)

"Santa Stark, huh?" Trevor asked. 

"Santa Stark, I like the sound of that!" Tony replied with a charming grin.

"Well, it's a deal. Thanks so much for joining us tonight, and everyone, make sure to check out StarkFoundation dot org to learn more about Tony's newest initiatives!"

Bruce watched as Tony and Trevor shook hands and leaned in to keep chatting even as the credits rolled.

**Text message from Darcy Lewis**: What are we going to do?

**Text message from Bruce Banner**: I'm going back to sleep. I'll see you at work in the morning.

And Bruce _should_ have gone to sleep. He started his days very early, with yoga and a long walk with Cosmo before getting to Town Hall before anyone else. 

Instead, he went online to check out Tony's new foundation. Bruce was generally a very well-informed citizen, but he habitually skipped any news stories about Tony. Even after all these years, it was still painful to think about him—especially since whenever Bruce did accidentally see a story about Tony, it almost always seemed to be about his latest romantic conquest, invariably better-looking and more successful than Bruce. 

Anyway, Bruce believed in thinking globally and acting locally; the actions of a rich industrialist in New York didn't have much to do with life in Snow Falls, Ohio. Except when they apparently did.

He had to admit he was impressed by what he saw of the Stark Foundation. Tony had apparently pledged to end all weapons manufacturing in all of his factories and restructure them to build solar panels and other components for green energy. More than that, he was following through on the pledges—Bruce watched video after video of Tony showing off newly-renovated factories and their peaceful products, as well as his trips to oversee the installation of solar panels in low-income neighborhoods and developing countries.

But none of this seemed like something to worry about. If anything, it seemed like it might be good publicity for the StarKids factory. They didn't make weapons—surely the toy drones didn't count? He rubbed his face with his hands. He'd watch the full interview in the morning and see what he'd missed, but for now, it was way past his bedtime. He crawled back into bed and fell into an uneasy sleep.

In the morning, Bruce took Cosmo out for his walk but skipped his usual yoga practice in favor of watching last night's full episode of the Daily Show. There was the usual opening monologue attempting to make lemonade from the terrible lemon tree of the day's news, a goofy field segment, and then Trevor introduced Tony Stark, going over his lengthy list of accomplishments while Bruce let his dog lick his empty oatmeal bowl. Bruce bit back a sigh as Tony bounded out onto the set, receiving enthusiastic applause and cheers from the audience. He really was unfairly good-looking, especially now that he was old enough to properly grow facial hair. 

Bruce finished his oatmeal and took his anxiety medication as he watched the two charismatic men banter their way through their opening small talk, and then he understood why Darcy had texted him last night. 

Trevor asked, "So, Tony, you've pledged to end all weapons manufacturing in all Stark Industries plants by the end of the year?"

Tony nodded. "Yep! Most of our facilities are already converted to making solar panels and other components for green energies. It's been a lot of work, but I gotta say, it feels great. And I know it'll feel even better for future generations."

Trevor then pulled out a small remote and piloted a drone carrying a small paratrooper toy out over the stage. He pressed a button and the toy soldier parachuted onto Tony's lap. Trevor grinned and said, "Whew! I didn't have a chance to practice with this too much, I wasn't sure I'd be able to stick that landing. But, speaking of future generations, this is actually a very user-friendly toy. Quality manufacturing, you'll be happy to know."

Tony picked up the toy soldier and raised his eyebrows. "Am I under attack?"

"I was just wondering if your ban on weapons manufacturing also included toy weapons."

"SI doesn't make any toy weapons."

"No?" Trevor demonstrated the StarKids logo on the side of the drone. "Our crack team of investigators have found that the StarKids toy factory is a subsidiary of Stark Industries. It wasn't actually that hard to find out, I mean, the logo is basically the same."

Tony studied the drone carefully. The logo _was_ basically the same as the blocky Stark Industries logo. "Huh." Most viewers wouldn't have noticed the brief flicker in Tony's smile. But Bruce did. For someone who prided himself on being the smartest person in the room, Tony was always genuinely happy to learn something new. But he wouldn't like being ambushed like this—although, who would?

Bruce had reached the point in the show where he had started watching last night. He rewatched it with growing horror. _Tony Stark_ was one of the major employers in Bruce's hometown? Was he going to close the factory? It wasn't technically a Stark Industries factory, so maybe he wouldn't consider it part of his initiative. But if he just converted the toy factory to a solar panel plant, that wouldn't be so bad…well, anyway, there wasn't anything Bruce could do about that. He reminded himself to focus on the things that he _could_ control. Like his breathing.

"Hey, didn't you go to school with him?" his mom asked.

Bruce turned with a start to see his mom in her scrubs, watching the TV from the doorway. "Morning, Mom. Uh, yeah." He'd never told her the full story of what had happened between Bruce and Tony, and they _never_ talked about that era of Bruce's life, but of course she would at least remember the name of his roommate from his brief stint at boarding school.

"Hmm," she said. "Well, maybe you can reach out to him, get some kind of good publicity for the town."

"Oh, yeah, maybe." Bruce loved his mom so much, was endlessly proud of her for finally getting out of her abusive relationship and going back to school for her nursing degree...but sometimes he got tired of her ideas for how Bruce could solve problems, which generally revolved around an overly-generous sense of Bruce's charisma and skills of persuasion. (At least it was better than when he'd first moved home. He'd been unemployed and she'd insisted he should hand-deliver his CV to schools, unable to understand the online job application portal.)

"Just think about it! It wouldn't hurt for you to make a phone call. The worst he can do is say no."

Bruce considered that. Tony had already done his worst to Bruce, so it was probably true that he couldn't do too much to hurt Bruce now. But was it worth trying? What could he do to help? Did the potential benefit outweigh the substantial emotional risk involved?

"I'll think about it," he promised, which was an understatement. He would undoubtedly be overthinking this all day. "Do you want some oatmeal?"

"No thanks, sweetie, I'm running late. I'll just eat a granola bar on my way to work."

"Okay. I was thinking spinach lasagna for dinner?"

She gave him a quick hug and cheek kiss as she breezed through the kitchen. "That sounds heavenly. Have a good day running the town! Love you!"

"Love you too! Have a good day saving lives!" he replied, their familiar refrain. Bruce finished the rest of his morning routine, clipped Cosmo's leash to his collar, and set out on the short bike ride to Town Hall. (One of Bruce's absolute favorite things about being mayor was that almost every day was Bring Your Dog to Work Day.) He knew that before long, ice and snow would prompt Bruce to put away his bicycle in favor of his battered Subaru, so he was trying to enjoy his last few rides of the year.

Bruce liked getting to work early to have a moment of peace and quiet before his day really began. Being mayor was a truly terrible job for an introvert, and so he tried his best to follow his routines to preserve his sanity. He settled in at his desk and started going through his inbox, assuming he had at least half an hour before Darcy crashed through his door. 

Thirty-five minutes later, Darcy flung open his door without knocking. "Bruce! What are we going to do? We have to save the StarKids factory!"

"Good morning, Darcy," Bruce said calmly.

She scowled at him, then dropped to her hands and knees to pet Cosmo. In a sing-song, talking-to-dogs voice, she said, "Cosmo! Aren't you the cutest dog! Don't you get tired of your owner being so boring all the time! Don't you want to come run away with me! You and I together, our combined cuteness will save the town!"

Bruce rubbed his forehead. "I don't think the town needs to be saved, Darcy. If Tony Stark converts the toy factory into a solar panel factory, that seems fine."

"Fine?" Darcy exclaimed. "Fine! Are you forgetting about the glorious history of the StarKids toy factory? You want all that to be swept away and replaced with a solar panel factory?"

"I mean, as long as everyone gets to keep their job...that seems fine? Good, even? Green energy is a growing industry."

"Are you kidding me! People love taking tours of the toy factory. Nobody's going to come for the solar panel factory."

"Do you have any numbers on how many visitors come from out of town to tour the factory?"

"Well—I'll get them! I mean—I don't know how many people, you know, come here specifically for it, but, you know, when people pass through on I-90...families stop for it, you know they do!" 

"Yeah, you're right."

"Mm, I love it when you say that."

"But who's to say families won't stop to tour a solar panel factory? Or—or whatever it turns out to be?"

"_Bruce_."

"What? It might be interesting to see how solar panels are made."

"You're such a nerd."

"Well, some tourists are nerds, too."

Darcy rolled her eyes. "But definitely _more_ tourists are families with toy-loving kids."

"Well, again, I would love to see numbers on that. Was 'nerd' a box on the last census?"

"Ugh! Bruce! You know what I mean. And you know I'm right! Plus, it was the best school field trip, and they always have the best float at the parade...ooh, we should invite Tony Stark to the Winter Joy Toy Parade. Then he'll understand how important the toy factory is to the town and he won't close it!"

"Tony Stark is a very busy man, Darcy. He's not going to come to some small town holiday parade. Especially not on such short notice." Bruce swallowed, thinking about the very idea of Tony, here in Snow Falls. Time had passed, maybe Tony had changed. Maybe he’d finally apologize to Bruce. No, it was too much to hope for.

"He might! You don't know until you ask him."

Bruce tried to keep his voice level as he said, "I'm not going to ask him. The parade is in two weeks."

"He'd understand it being such short notice, since he just found out about the factory himself. And it would be a great photo op for him! He loves a photo op. He could be the grand marshal!"

"Darcy. We already asked the high school baseball coach to be the grand marshal, after the team went to state last spring. It would hurt Coach Wilson's feelings if we replaced him on such short notice."

"We could have _two_ grand marshals."

"Or we could just have the one, who we already have. Now, don't we have any real work to do today?"

"Ugh. You have a meeting with the parks department at 10 AM. Here." She shoved a folder at him.

"Thanks, Darcy." He flipped open the folder and perused the stats.

"I'm going to go get you numbers on toy factory tourism!"

"Okay, Darcy."

"And you should call Hope! She's going to be freaking out."

Darcy huffed her way back out to her desk while Bruce read up on the parks department's summer program proposal. He probably _should_ call Hope. And he should buy Darcy one of Thor's pastries; he knew he was being unreasonable, but the more he thought about it, the more he knew that he couldn't bring himself to reach out to Tony. Especially not to ask him for a favor, even if it was something that might help Snow Falls. 

Still, part of him acknowledged that Darcy's instincts were usually right. Even, improbably, when she approached him after that school board meeting and convinced him to run for mayor. She'd recently graduated with a B.A. in political science and he'd recently been fired from his job as high school science teacher, but she'd somehow seen potential in him and dragged him through a successful campaign. Bruce couldn't wait until the next town election, for which Darcy would be old enough to run for office herself. But in the meantime, he was in charge around here, and he was _not_ inviting Tony Stark to the Winter Joy Toy Parade.


	2. Babes in Toyland

"Tony!"

Tony looked up from his latest prototype battery and saw Pepper standing in the door to his workshop. The expression on her face suggested that this wasn't her first attempt to get his attention.

"Hey, Pep!" Tony discreetly checked his watch. "Morning!" 

"It is morning," she agreed. "Did you sleep at all? Those are yesterday's clothes."

"I've slept." Technically true; he had certainly slept on other occasions. But he was too excited and too busy to sleep much; there was so much work to be done with the Stark Foundation. So many years of damage to try to undo. The planet was going to clean itself up, after all.

"Uh-huh," she said. "Well, here's some coffee."

"You're an angel!" He took the mug from her and swallowed a gulp. "Anyway, what's new?"

She talked him through his schedule for the day, and added, "Oh, and the plant foreperson in Snow Falls sent over all the schematics and everything for that toy factory you own."

"Ooh!" Learning more about a toy factory seemed briefly more interesting than his other projects. Retrofitting his weapons plants to make instruments of peace was such a challenge. Truthfully, it would have been cheaper for him to close the factories down and build new ones designed for manufacturing green technologies, but he appreciated the symbolism of his project. Besides, he found satisfaction in solving the puzzles of reconfiguring old technology to make it better than ever. He was curious to see the machinery the toy factory had. Perhaps it would be easier to work with. Or perhaps it wouldn't—but he knew he could rise to the challenge.

Pepper raised her eyebrows at his reaction, since he was usually performatively bored by most of the meetings and tasks she had for him. "Well, I'll forward all the digital files to you. She also sent over some paper blueprints. Do you want to see them?"

"Yeah, I'll take a look." Tony ran his fingers through his hair and stretched his arms over his head.

"Well, they're back in my office, I'll bring them by later."

"Nah, I'll walk with you. I could probably use a change of surroundings."

"You could also feel free to go to your bedroom," Pepper suggested. "Or your shower? When was the last time you took a shower?"

"Yeah, no, I'll do that before my 11 o'clock." He frowned. He had showered yesterday, hadn't he? Or was it the day before? As they walked, he attempted to discreetly sniff his shirt, then asked, "Hey, you haven't found any other factories I secretly own, did you? I don't want to get surprised on any other TV appearances." 

He tried to keep his tone light, although he was deeply irritated by the turn of events. He knew this surprise toy factory situation wasn't Pepper's fault. It was Tony's responsibility, just like every aspect of Stark Industries was Tony's responsibility. In the abstract, he'd always known that would be the case, though it had taken him some time to truly understand what that responsibility meant. Now, he knew what a heavy burden it was, but he was determined to use harness his considerable resources to make Stark Industries serve a force for good in the world. Even if there were some individuals in his employ who would strongly prefer for Tony to stick to the status quo.

Pepper said, "Your lawyers are going back over everything with a fine-tooth comb. They haven't found anything else. They're still not sure why StarKids was linked to a different LLC, but maybe Howard eventually planned to branch out further into...toys?"

"Maybe," Tony said. "Doesn't really sound like him, though."

She shrugged. "Hey, Tony...you know they're just making a comedy show. Nobody _really_ thinks making toy soldiers is the same thing as making actual weapons. It's...it's a toy factory. It was just a funny bit for the show."

"No, yeah, I can take a joke, Pepper, it's just...I don't know. Something seems off. Why was someone trying to keep this from me?"

She made a sympathetic sound. "I don't blame you for being suspicious, not after…not after Stane, but this seems like it was an honest mistake. I mean, your parents died so suddenly, their affairs weren't exactly in order."

"I know, but that was fifteen years ago. What am I paying all these lawyers for if not to, you know, order them?"

"Do you want me to post a position? Are you hiring for your legal team?"

"I...yeah, maybe. Maybe a set of fresh eyes or two wouldn't hurt."

"Noted." Back in her office, she produced a shipping tube and handed it to him. "Here's your blueprints."

But Tony didn't take the proffered tube from her hand. As usual, he'd been distracted by the perpetual motion machine on her desk, and it had drawn his eye to the envelope on the top of one of her inboxes. An envelope with a familiar name in the return address. He picked it up and studied it closely. "What's this?"

"Hmm?" She leaned over to see what he was holding. "Oh! Oh, aw, it's kind of cute actually, the mayor of Snow Falls—the little town where the StarKids factory is—invited you to be the grand marshal for their Christmas parade."

He tried to keep his hands from shaking as he looked at the envelope. Maybe it was a coincidence? He knew from his fruitless past searches that there were a few other Bruce Banners out there in the world. But...his Bruce _was_ from Ohio, wasn't he?

Pepper gave him a strange look. "Hey...you didn't want to go to that, did you? I hadn't responded yet but I assumed...well, I assumed you'd be too busy for something like that."

He licked his lips. Of course; he'd never told Pepper about the boy who'd broken his heart in high school. Why would she think to bring a letter from him straight to Tony? How would she know that he'd been secretly hoping to hear from Bruce Banner for the last fifteen years? "Let me, ah, look into it. Might be fun, right?"

"...might be," she said doubtfully. "Here's your blueprints, though."

"Blueprints! Right." He took the tube and the envelope.

On his way out the door, she called, "Hey, if you decide you want to go to that parade, let me know so I can make arrangements!"

"Will do!" Tony retreated up to his penthouse. He sat on his couch and opened the envelope. He set aside a clip-art laden brochure for the Winter Joy Toy Parade and dug into the letter. It was printed on mayoral letterhead and was oddly formal in tone. No apology for mysteriously ghosting Tony during his hour of need. No confession of long-smoldering love. (Not that Tony _really_ expected that, but....it would have been nice.) No real acknowledgment that they'd ever meant anything at all to each other. 

Coming from someone else, it would have been a nice enough letter—complimentary of Tony's charitable efforts and charmingly quaint in its depiction of small town life, signed with an illegible scribble that demonstrated that Bruce's handwriting hadn't improved much since high school. 

He set the letter aside and did a quick internet search for "Bruce Banner Snow Falls." Maybe it was a different Bruce, after all. Maybe the one who was a champion bodybuilder? It was hard for Tony to imagine the shy, awkward teen he'd known as the mayor of anywhere. 

Over the years, he'd periodically tried to internet stalk Bruce, just out of morbid curiosity, but it had been a few years since his last attempt. He'd never even found the slightest trace of a social media profile, which wasn't surprising, given that when they'd been in high school in the early 00s, Bruce had eschewed getting a Yahoo! email account or AOL Instant Messenger profile. (Knowing Bruce's reticence, Tony had never even bothered to suggest something as vulgar as a _MySpace_ profile.) Bruce had insisted on scrawling out longhand letters back and forth over their breaks, which at the time, he managed to make seem romantic rather than inconvenient.

As a result of Bruce's long-running online stealth, Tony had had to content himself with the occasional line on a university website about grants given or awards won. (He knew he could have hired a private investigator to get him the real dirt, but that seemed over the top. Tony just wanted to be able to casually check in on Bruce, not to subpoena the guy.) But now, sure enough, _his_ Bruce—as Tony couldn't help but think of him, even though it had been over a decade since he could have been called Tony's—filled the top ten results for "Bruce Banner." 

Where before Tony had had to content himself with online crumbs, Bruce's mayoral campaign presented a feast of information that Tony was happy to devour. Bruce looked adorable in his campaign photos—speaking solemnly at a microphone, crouching down to pet a dog, even the politician classic _holding a baby_. Wait—was it Bruce's baby? Tony clicked around and felt uncomfortably relieved to learn that Bruce was single and childless, although his fluffy mutt had apparently earned the title "First Dog of Snow Falls," with an active social media following of his own.

Tony was enthralled as he read a profile of Bruce; considered part of the 2018 "Blue Wave" even though he was actually the town's first Green Party mayor, who handily defeated the Republican incumbent in a huge upset. He'd gotten some local media attention for being a young (and it must be said—adorable), liberal, openly bisexual mayor of a small Midwestern town. It still seemed like an odd career path for Bruce, but as Tony read on and learned the details, it became easier to reconcile Mayor Bruce with the Bruce Tony had known.

Apparently, after completing his PhD in science education, Bruce had moved home to take care of his ailing mother and gotten hired as a high school science teacher. But the school board received complaints about Bruce's curriculum. They held a hearing to decide whether Bruce should remain in the school's employ, and Bruce had gone _off_, screaming about the importance of science and critical thinking. His points were quite eloquent but the language was profane. The school principal, Jane Foster, had fought for Bruce, but she'd been overruled. 

Tony found a video clip of Bruce's rant, which had apparently gone somewhat viral in educational circles. It was...charming and funny and, well, kind of hot, actually, but it had gotten Bruce fired from the school. But apparently it had also won Bruce some allies who convinced him to spend his sudden unemployment time running for mayor. He won, the school board changed its curriculum guidelines, and now...Bruce had invited Tony to be the grand marshal at the town's Winter Joy Toy Parade.

Tony watched more interviews with Bruce and felt an actual pain in his chest. He could understand why Bruce had won his mayoral campaign despite his utter lack of political experience. If he came across as a bit stilted when giving formal speeches, he more than made up for it with his candid footage; Bruce was simply so endearing and sincere. He watched video footage of Bruce shoveling snow for neighbors, helping a troop of Girl Scouts write a proclamation, and personally baking muffins for the high school's GSA bake sale. Bruce was apparently a very hands-on mayor, genuinely happy to help his neighbors. 

But if Bruce was such a stand-up guy, why hadn't he ever apologized to Tony? Tony wasn't asking for a big parchment scroll or basket of muffins. Just a simple apology. Was that really so much to ask? Didn't Tony deserve that? 

Tony took a deep breath and forced himself to hear his therapist's voice in his head—_You can't control what other people do, Tony. You can only control what you do. You _are_ worthy of love and respect, and it isn't your fault if not everyone in your life has been able to give you that_—and he decided to give Bruce a chance. It had been so long since they'd seen each other, and grief was so uncomfortable for people to deal with. Maybe Bruce hadn't known how to apologize in writing. Maybe he'd do it in person. Maybe things could be different this time. If nothing else, Tony could probably get some cute footage from the small town parade and send it to the Daily Show or something. He felt so much pressure to make his green energy initiatives fun and likable, as if people couldn’t just like having cleaner air and frozen polar ice caps for their own merits.

He switched to investigating the factory itself, which had apparently been founded in 1912, though it had temporarily shut down during the Depression and again during WWII. It had originally been called Fischer and Sons Toy Factory, but had been renamed StarKids in 1990. That must have been when Howard had purchased it, though Wikipedia didn't say. 

Tony clicked through to read more about the town of Snow Falls itself. It was in the state's northeast corner, between Cleveland and Erie, PA. Apparently, it didn't receive more average snowfall than any other town in the region, but it took its name from a waterfall on the Grand River. It had a population of 10,616 people, and a majority of them had voted for Bruce Banner to serve as their mayor. 

He kept thinking about it as he showered, and by the time he was dressed and ready for his 11 o'clock meeting, he'd decided. He would tell Pepper to accept the invitation to the parade, and have her set up a tour of the StarKids factory too. He meant what he said about wanting to be a more active, hands-on CEO. If a factory had his name on it (even if it also had some extra letters tacked on the end), he was responsible for what happened there. And if taking responsibility meant accepting his ex-boyfriend's invitation to appear in a small town parade, well, he was up for that challenge.


	3. You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch

As mayor, Bruce made it a practice of keeping informal "office hours" at various establishments around Snow Falls. It was a good way to promote local businesses as well as to hear from constituents who might have been too intimidated to approach Town Hall. Plus, it got him out of his office, and sometimes it got him tasty food. On the Monday morning before the Winter Joy Toy Parade, he was settled in his usual booth at the Quantum Cafe with his laptop.

The cafe's owner, Scott, approached him with a mug. "Sup, Mr. Mayor, want to try our new cinnamon-cayenne latte?"

Bruce had helped Scott apply for a community small business grant for the cafe, which made a point of trying to hire at-risk youth, convicted felons, and others who were trying to return to the workforce after long unemployment gaps. Scott was grateful for Bruce's assistance and always casually gave Bruce free food and drink whenever he came in. Bruce felt a little uncomfortable about the arrangement, but he didn't want to hurt Scott's feelings...and anyway, his food and drinks were always delicious.

"Sure, sounds good, thanks." He accepted the mug and took a sip. "Oh, that hits the spot, thanks."

"No prob! Hey, do you think Tony Stark will like it?"

Bruce coughed on his latte. "What?"

"Oh, well, Hope says he's coming to tour the factory on Friday, so I was thinking maybe he'd come in the cafe afterwards, since we're just down the street and all. Or before the tour even! I'm not picky, but, you know, if I could get a picture of him for our wall, that would be huge, right?" Scott proudly displayed a wall of local "celebrities" who had visited the cafe, which was usually people like college athletes or, well, like Bruce. Tony Stark was infinitely more of a celebrity than anyone else on the wall.

"Oh, yeah," Bruce agreed noncommittally. "I hadn't heard he was coming to town."

Scott frowned. "Really? Well, I'm pretty sure that's what Hope said. Maybe I misunderstood. Or maybe it was supposed to be a secret? You know, for security?"

"Right, that makes sense. Well...then, yeah, I hope he comes by the cafe. If he doesn't, he's missing out on a great latte."

Scott grinned. "Thanks. I'll leave you to your work. But hey, are you and Rebecca coming in for Taco Tuesday tomorrow?"

"We wouldn't miss it," Bruce promised. After Scott left, Bruce did a quick search of his inbox for "Tony Stark." Nothing new came up. 

**Text message from Bruce Banner**: Hey, you don't know anything about Tony Stark coming to town on Friday, do you?

**Text message from Darcy Lewis**: …

**Text message from Darcy Lewis**: …

**Text message from Darcy Lewis**: …

Bruce frowned as his phone as the ellipsis of typing appeared and disappeared for an unreasonably long amount of time. But then his friend (and former boss) Jane slid into the booth across from him, holding a large to-go cup of coffee.

"Hey, Bruce, got a minute?" she asked.

"Yeah, of course," he said, sliding his phone into his messenger bag. He wanted to give Jane his full attention, and he could talk to Darcy later. "How are things down at the high school?"

"Oh, fine," she said, with a dismissive wave. "Well—I did actually want to talk to you about an idea I had for scholarships for summer enrichment programs, but we should talk about that another time, I'm actually on my way to Cleveland for a principals' association meeting. I just wanted to say hi."

"Hi," Bruce echoed with a smile.

Jane checked her watch. "And bye! See you later."

"Bye!" Jane breezed out the door and another concerned citizen instantly took her place, and so the morning went until the next person who slid into Bruce's booth was Darcy.

"Bruce! I'm sorry, please don't be mad!"

Bruce blinked. In the morning's activity, he'd already managed to forget about Darcy's non-response. "Why would I be mad?" He pulled his phone out of his bag.

"Oh my god, you weren't replying to my texts so I thought you were mad, which was dumb because honestly, you should be excited that Tony Stark said he'd be the grand marshal of the Winter Joy Toy Parade!"

"He...what?" Bruce looked at the messages on his phone which reaffirmed in plain text what Darcy had just told him. "Darcy, I _told_ you not to invite him!"

"I know, you didn't think he'd come, but I figured, the worst he could do would say no, right? Soo I forged your signature and asked. And he said yes! Soo, you're welcome!" Darcy beamed.

Bruce took a deep breath, hoping to calm himself. "What the _fuck_?" The deep breath hadn't worked that well, and a woman with two toddlers turned to glare at him. He made an apologetic face at her. He really hadn't meant for it to come out so loudly. He focused on the repertoire of anger management strategies his therapist had taught him and counted to ten.

Darcy recoiled and said, "Wait, you _are_ mad?"

"I'm...I…" he slid out of the booth. Counting wasn't working. He needed to remove himself from the situation. "I need some fresh air. Why don't _you_ take over for the rest of my office hours, if you want my job so bad?" He stormed out the door before she could reply, though her expression silently reflected hurt.

As soon as the cold air hit his lungs, he felt shitty. Darcy was just trying to help. She was a great deputy mayor. He thought about immediately going back into the cafe to apologize, but he decided that he really could use some fresh air, just to keep himself from saying anything else he might regret. Bruce tried so hard to keep his temper in check. His therapist had taught him so many techniques to help, but nothing beat a nice, quiet bike ride.

He pedaled slowly back to Town Hall, hoping to see MYUMnir, Snow Falls's best (and only) food truck. Luck was on his side, as the shiny silver truck was set up across from Town Hall. 

Bruce locked up his bike outside Town Hall and stepped over to the food truck. Thor greeted him warmly. "Mayor Banner! You honor my establishment with your presence!"

"Um, hi, Thor, you know you can just call me Bruce," Bruce said, pointlessly. Thor spoke English perfectly, but formally. He'd left Norway to take a "gap year" from his father's European business empire to drive a food truck across the United States. Except he'd met Jane and stayed in Ohio for the last four years, where he'd really perfected his craft.

Thor waved his hand. "I will show you the respect to which you are entitled! Now, what products interest you today?"

"Do you have any Pop Tarts left?" All of Thor's baked goods were fantastic, but his homemade Pop Tarts were particularly legendary, soft and flaky and perfectly filled. 

Thor ducked beneath the counter and came up with a paper bag. "You are in luck! Just one left. I trust you do not object to strawberry flavor."

"Thanks, Thor. It's actually for Darcy, that'll be great."

"How considerate of you!"

"Not really, it's an apology pastry," Bruce admitted. "I kind of yelled at her earlier and I feel bad. She was just trying to help."

"Ah," Thor said. "A noble being knows when to admit their error!" He added a chocolate chip cookie to the bag and said, "And how to sweeten their apologies. I am sure Darcy will forgive you."

"Yeah. Thanks, Thor," Bruce said. He paid for his pastries and slunk back into Town Hall. He dropped off the sweets at Darcy's desk with an apologetic note and went back into his office to catch up on his emails and fret.

An hour later, Darcy burst into Bruce's office with the Pop-Tart in her hand and a scowl on her face. "You think you can just buy me off with pastries?" 

"Darcy, I'm sorry—"

"—I'm just kidding, you know you totally can." She smiled and took a bite. "God. Delicious. I hate him for ruining the store-bought ones for me, though. I can never go back." Bruce relaxed, seeing that Darcy was in a good mood. She added, "Anyway, I'm sorry too, I didn't realize you felt so strongly about Tony Stark. I just thought you were being shy or whatever."

Bruce nodded and glumly realized he probably owed her more of an explanation. "Yeah. No. Well, it's just, um, I have a little bit of a history with him, so it's, well…"

Darcy's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "A _history_ with _Tony Stark_? Bruce, what does that _mean_?"

He winced. "Well, ah, we went to high school together…"

She frowned. "No way. You went to Snow Falls High. Jane showed me your yearbook picture. You had the most amazing emo hair, by the way."

"Of course she did," Bruce muttered. "Um, and that haircut was in style then."

"No, it was not. It never was and never will be."

"Whatever. Anyway, yeah, I _graduated_ here." Bruce felt fine saying that, now, though when he'd first returned home from Vision Academy he'd been devastated to know that despite all of his hard work, his diploma would still be from the decidedly less-prestigious Snow Falls High. He thought he'd lost his one chance at academic excellence, since there was no way he could get another scholarship for another private high school. But it turned out that finishing up his last few high school credits at a small-town public school ultimately hadn't kept him from getting college scholarships and eventually, a fully-paid assistantship for his PhD. 

Besides which, he'd managed to make a few friends at SFH during the two semesters it took him to finish up his diploma. Once he’d gotten back on his feet, high school really hadn't been as bad as he'd feared. (Certainly much better than his grueling stint at Snow Falls Middle.) He'd thought people would tease him for getting kicked out of boarding school, but mostly everyone was just impressed that he'd managed to get out of town at all. Most people were too intimidated or too indifferent to ask Bruce what exactly had happened at Vision Academy, and that was just fine with Bruce.

Bruce continued, "But for my first couple of years, I went to a boarding school in upstate New York, and Tony and I, uh, were roommates."

"Oh my god, you were _roommates_!" Darcy squealed, but then her eyes narrowed. "Wait, but now you don't want to see him? What happened? Was he a dick to you? _Do you want me to taze him?_"

"No, no. I mean, yeah, something happened, but no, I don't want you to taze him, I just...it's just...awkward."

Darcy studied him closely. "What, did you guys hook up or something?"

Bruce felt his cheeks grow warm. "Um...or something. But, Darcy, this really isn't appropriate and I really don't want to talk about it, I just thought you should know why I, uh, reacted the way I did, and again I'm really sorry I yelled at you."

"Well, I'm sorry I forged your signature on a letter to your ex-boyfriend."

Bruce sighed, and Darcy said, "Wait. You didn't correct me. He _is_ your ex-boyfriend?"

"I...Darcy, please, I really don't want word about this to get out, okay? Can you please just keep this quiet?"

"If you'll tell me what exactly I'm keeping quiet!"

"You can't tell anyone."

Darcy mimed zipping her lips and throwing away the key.

"I'm serious," Bruce warned.

"I'm serious, too! You can trust me. But I can't help you out if I don't know the story."

Bruce supposed she had a point. Anyway, he knew Darcy could keep a secret, even if she'd happily use this information to tease Bruce in private. "Well...he was my first boyfriend." He'd been Bruce's first _friend_, full stop. His first everything. "And he—we—well, it's embarrassing, but he tried to grow weed in our dorm room, and of course we got caught, but I was the one who got expelled, and then I never heard from him again, so...yeah." Bruce felt tears well up and his throat thickened as he remembered how his letters had gone unanswered. He remembered how disposable he'd been to Tony, and for a moment the pain still felt just as fresh as it had when he was 15. He ground the palm of his hand into his eyes and took a sip of water.

"Bruce! That's awful," Darcy said. "I feel so bad that I'm not even going to make fun of you. Wait." She ducked back out to her desk and brought back the cookie Bruce had gotten from Thor. "Here, chocolate is good for breakups."

Bruce managed a tight smile. He broke the cookie in half and handed a piece back to her. "Thanks. It was a long time ago...and at least, you know, I'm white and the school handled it internally and sealed their records, so I didn't get a criminal record or anything."

"Still, that sucks."

"Yeah." Bruce decided to end the story there. He didn’t feel like talking about what had happened next, and anyway, he knew it wasn’t really fair to blame that part on Tony. He took a bite of the cookie before continuing, "So, you invited Tony to be the grand marshal of the parade...and he said yes?"

"Yeah. He said he was coming to tour the factory on Friday so he might as well stay for the weekend. He—well, actually, knowing that you guys dated sort of makes his reply make more sense." Bruce rubbed his face with his hand. Darcy hastily added, "But don't worry about it! I'll take care of everything. I'll just tell him you're sick or something."

"But Darcy, I have to be at the parade too. Also, did you talk to Coach Wilson about it? You did kind of give away his spot."

"Uh...we can have two grand marshals! The more the merrier! I'm sure he'll be excited to meet Tony Stark. No offense."

"None taken," Bruce mumbled.

"Okay, anyway, fine, you can both be at the parade, but you'll be on different floats, so, no big deal, right? The mayor is always at the end of the parade and the grand marshal is at the front. Very low risk of accidental awkwardness, even considering your, uh, natural tendencies for that." She put the other half of the cookie in front of him and said, quickly, "But, um, he did ask you to dinner on Friday, and I did accept, so...uh...we'll just say you're sick on Friday and then you can, you know, 'rest up' and be better by the parade on Saturday." She did exaggerated air quotes when she said "rest up." 

Bruce groaned. "You already accepted? Without asking me?"

"I schedule meetings and stuff for you all the time. It was going to be a surprise! I thought you'd be excited to meet Tony Stark! I didn't know about your tragic backstory with the guy. Seriously, you're sure you don't want me to taze him?"

"We're supposed to be convincing him to support the factory, right?"

"So...no tazing?"

"No tazing," Bruce affirmed. He bit his lip. "Ah...what did Tony say, exactly?"

Darcy's eyes widened. "Oh my god. Do you want to go to dinner with him?"

"I...well...I probably should...if he asked. You know, as a professional courtesy."

Darcy clasped her hands together. "Yes. You should! You definitely should! He said he was _really_ looking forward to seeing you." She placed an inappropriate emphasis on the word "really."

"...Really?"

"Really! So, you should let me pick your outfit."

"Darcy…"

"Okay, okay, I'm just saying, that green sweater really makes your eyes—"

"_Darcy._"

"Fine, wear whatever you want, but _if_ you wear the green sweater you have to invite me to your wedding."

"There's no wedding, Darcy, it just...might be nice to...get a little closure. And to talk about the factory. For Hope's sake." Darcy had been right; Hope _was_ freaking out about the factory. And as much as Bruce liked the idea of solar power, he knew she'd worked hard developing new toys over the years. It would be a shame to lose them.

"Mm-hmm." Darcy was grinning now, in a way that made Bruce feel nervous.

"Seriously, Darcy, you can't tell anyone about this!" Bruce had worked so hard to maintain some semblance of privacy here in his tiny hometown. It would be so embarrassing if word got out about all of this. But it was normal for the mayor to have dinner with an important business owner, right?

"I _zipped my lips_, Bruce, that's binding. But I just hope you have a nice dinner with him. You deserve it. And if it's not nice, seriously, I will taze him. Just say the word."

"I really don't think it'll come to that, but I appreciate it."

"Oh, and it's almost time for your meeting with DPW about the snowplow contracts."

"Thanks," Bruce said, hiding his groan at the thought of impending snow. The forecast was still in flux, but there was definitely a chance of a big snowstorm over the coming weekend, which would wreak havoc on the Winter Joy Toy Parade. On the bright side, maybe the weather would keep Tony from getting to Snow Falls. Bruce could dream, anyway. 

As she turned to leave his office, Bruce called, "By the way, Darcy?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry for the way I said what I said about you wanting my job, especially when I know I wouldn't even have my job if it weren't for you. I just want to make sure you know, you'll have my vote in the next mayoral election." The town's bylaws required a mayor to be at least 21, which meant that Darcy had just barely missed the cutoff when she'd persuaded Bruce to run.

She beamed. "Good, because I'd hate to run against you."

Bruce smiled back. He just had to make it through this year's parade. And one tiny awkward dinner. And then two more annual parades. And then it would be Darcy's turn to deal with all of that. That thought strengthened him as he went into his boring but necessary snowplow meeting.


	4. I'll Have a Blue Christmas Without You

Tony had arrived at the restaurant uncomfortably early for dinner, which wasn't a problem he was used to having. But he'd wrapped up his afternoon factory tour ahead of schedule. Everything there functioned perfectly and they'd made some really cool product innovations. He'd tried to make it clear how impressed he was with what they've done with what they had, and to reassure everyone that their jobs would be safe. But the foreperson, Hope, had all but radiated contempt for Tony beneath her polite veneer, and she didn't seem at all interested in hearing about green energy. 

Though he'd been excited to see the factory, Tony had been glad when the tour ended. Then he'd allowed for too much travel time to get to the Quantum Cafe, which turned out to be about thirty seconds away from the factory. He flipped through the cafe's overwhelming menu, ordered a bottle of wine, and pulled out his phone.

**Text message from Tony Stark**: Hey Platypus, how was PT today?

**Text message from James Rhodes**: Fine! Slow and steady etc. How's Iowa?

**Text message from Tony Stark**: Ohio actually. It's fine. Toured the toy factory, they're actually doing some pretty innovative stuff.

**Text message from James Rhodes**: Cool. Bring me back a present. 

**Text message from Tony Stark**: Will do

**Text message from James Rhodes**: You coming back tonight?

**Text message from Tony Stark**: Tomorrow night, I'm supposed to be the grand marshal of the town Christmas parade tomorrow afternoon

**Text message from James Rhodes**: LMAO

**Text message from James Rhodes**: PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN

**Text message from James Rhodes**: ARE YOU GOING TO BE SANTA??

**Text message from Tony Stark**: Haha IDK the details actually, but. Well, do you remember hearing about my high school boyfriend? Bruce?

**Text message from James Rhodes**: The one who totally ghosted you the second after your parents died? >:(

**Text message from Tony Stark**: Yeah. That one. Well, funny story, he's the mayor of this town

**Text message from James Rhodes**: WTF

**Text message from Tony Stark**: People change, I guess? Anyway, I'm having dinner with him tonight. And then being in the parade with him tomorrow.

**Text message from James Rhodes**: Want me to kick his ass? These new leg braces really improve my range of motion, I'm sure it won't be a problem.

**Text message from Tony Stark**: Haha, thanks for the offer. I'll let you know how it goes, I'm waiting for him now.

**Text message from James Rhodes**: He's keeping you waiting? Rude AF

**Text message from Tony Stark**: Nah I just got here early. Out of character, I know. I think I see him now...I'll fill you in later.

**Text message from James Rhodes**: Hope it goes well...but if it doesn't, remember my offer! I'll be on the next flight to Idaho if I have to ;)

Tony looked up and saw Bruce standing in the doorway. He looked older, of course, but there was something in his hesitant expression and nervously twisting fingers that transported Tony right back to Vision Academy. Tony hadn't been worried about starting high school when he was barely 13; he'd been at different boarding schools since he was eight years old. He knew the drill. He knew how to get his peers to like him, and his teachers too. Anyone except his father, really. 

At least that's what he'd thought until he met his strange, solemn roommate. Tony knew he and Bruce had been paired together since they were the youngest in their grade, but it seemed that the two of them came from entirely different worlds, and they weren't sure how to communicate with each other.

Initially, Tony had thought that Bruce didn't like him, which seemed unfair, since Bruce didn't know him at all. Gradually, he realized that Bruce didn't dislike him. Bruce was _afraid_ of him, which was worse, until he realized that Bruce was afraid of everyone, so at least it wasn't personal. Tony set about systematically drawing Bruce out of his shell, a project on which he worked harder than any class that first semester. 

By the time Tony's project could be considered a success, he was already halfway in love with Bruce. How could he not be? Not once he’d excavated Bruce’s humor and kindness from beneath his hard protective coating. He'd never had a friend like Bruce before, one who was simultaneously so sincere yet so sarcastic. One who wasn't impressed by Tony's money or influence. Bruce didn't want gifts or favors from Tony. (He _really_ didn’t want them.) Bruce just liked Tony for himself. Tony's real, nerdy, needy, intense, self. 

Until the day he didn't anymore. Until Tony needed too much from him.

Tony took a long sip of wine and waved at Bruce, trying to push that painful memory out of his mind in favor of a fresh start. Bruce nodded and sat down across from him, shrugging off his puffy down jacket and revealing a soft green sweater. 

"Hey, sorry if I kept you waiting."

"Oh, no, you're right on time," Tony said with an easy smile. "I got here a little early, there wasn't any traffic."

"Oh, yeah, we don't have too much of that here." Bruce gave a half-smile and a half-shrug, and then they both opened their mouths to talk. "No, go on," Bruce said.

"I, uh...well, it's just a small world, huh?" Tony said.

Bruce nodded slowly. "Yeah. It, um, it is good to see you, though." After that admission, he gave Tony a timid smile that did something to Tony's heart. In high school, Bruce had worn his hair longer, so that it often covered his eyes. Sometimes he'd push it back behind his ears, but other times he would just peek up at Tony from under the hair in a manner that Tony had found impossibly endearing. Somehow, Bruce now managed to convey that same expression despite his shorter curls—shy, but attentive; not quite coy, but...inviting.

Tony swallowed. He was probably reading too much into Bruce's face. "Yeah. You too." He took another sip of wine. "I—I gotta tell you, I was pretty surprised to hear you were the mayor of anything. I, uh, wouldn't have guessed politics as a career path for you."

"Ha! Yeah, no, who would have? I don't think it's really a career path for me, though, exactly, it's just—just kind of for now. I don't know." Bruce hunched his shoulders and twisted his hands together, and Tony had to fight the urge to reach over and hold those hands. Somewhere in his head, a single brain cell screamed _What the fuck! Remember how much he hurt you?_ But the rest of Tony found it hard to think about that in the face of Bruce's guileless charm.

Just then, their waiter reappeared. He beamed at Bruce. "Dr. Banner! What can I get for you?"

"Amadeus! I didn't know you worked here."

"Yeah, just a couple shifts here and there. I'm still at my parents' store a lot, but, you know, just trying to save up everything I can for college."

"Right, right. Did you get your applications in yet?"

"Not yet, but I still have time."

"Where are you thinking of?"

"Well, I think my top choice is MIT, and OSU is my safety, but I don't know, I was thinking about Stanford? Especially when the forecast is like this, California sounds pretty nice...um, but, anyway, did you want something else to drink? I'm, um, actually not supposed to pour the wine so if you want that I have to get someone else." That explained the sudden appearance of a frazzled 30-something at the table after Tony had ordered the wine.

Bruce looked down at the table, at the bottle, and the empty glass in front of him.

Tony said, "Oh, I ordered a bottle, I figured we'd share? If you want?"

"Oh. Yes. Well, why not?" Bruce said. "That's fine." Tony picked up the bottle and poured some in Bruce's glass. "Thanks. Oh, um, and our underage waiter here is Amadeus, he volunteered for my campaign. But next year he's going to go off and change the world. Amadeus, this is—"

"Tony Stark, I know," Amadeus blurted out, although he didn't sound excited. "I mean, it's nice to meet you. I mean, do you want to hear about the specials?"

"Yes, please," Bruce said.

"So, the appetizer special is chili-lime toasted grasshoppers. The sandwich special is a Nashville hot mushroom sandwich, which comes with sweet potato fries and harissa carrot salad. And there's a grilled chicken breast with peach-pineapple barbeque sauce, served with broccoli rabe. Any questions?"

Tony asked, "Grasshoppers, like the bug?"

"It's a protein source with a low carbon footprint," Bruce said. "Scott likes to experiment with the menu."

"They're actually pretty good," Amadeus said.

After they ordered—Tony skipped the grasshoppers in favor of the chicken—Tony said, "Wow, you had the youth vote on lock, huh?" 

Bruce blushed, and Tony couldn't help but find it endearing. "Amadeus was one of my students, before, um, when I was a teacher." Bruce rubbed the back of his neck. "So here we are. What, um, did you think of the factory today?"

Tony considered before replying, "It's in great shape. I guess you probably know Hope?" Bruce nodded, and Tony said, "Well, she's been doing fantastic work running the place. Really innovative stuff, even the products don't quite fit with the rest of SI's line. I think it'd be easy to get everybody going on solar panel production." 

"I—I think it's great, what you're doing, with your company? And your foundation?" Bruce offered. "I mean—I mean you're making a big commitment to environmental justice."

"Thanks." Tony brightened. He picked up the wine bottle and looked to refill Bruce's glass but saw that it was still full, so he just refilled his own.

"Can—can I ask what inspired you to make such a big change?"

"Mm. Yeah, that's the question, huh? I guess there were a few main things, one of which was the last presidential election—" Bruce winced and nodded in response. "And the other was, well, my best friend is in the Air Force and he got hurt pretty bad in Afghanistan, and I guess just seeing first-hand the effects of weapons...and just...you know, just not being confident I was putting them all in the best hands, well...it gave me pause. And I know it's...like, I probably should have had that realization sooner, but it was just what I grew up with, and..."

Bruce smiled and gave Tony a warm look. "I'm really sorry about your friend. But good for you. I...you know, given the area of some of my research, I got offered some military contracts after grad school, and the money was good, but...I just couldn't do it, in the end. So I'm really excited to see what you come up with as you move forward."

Tony smiled back, always happy to talk about his ideas, especially with someone who he knew could keep up with him. He was in the middle of describing his progress on a cobalt-free alternative to lithium batteries when their young waiter reappeared with their meals. Tony drank more wine with his food, which turned out to be better than he'd have expected for a cafe whose main selling point was proximity to a factory in small-town Ohio.

When Amadeus came to clear their plates, Tony pulled a card out of his wallet and handed it to him. "Hey, if you're applying to MIT, let me know. I'm an alum, I'd be happy to help if I can."

Amadeus slid the card into the pocket of his apron and nodded. "Oh! Uh, thanks," he said flatly. Tony wondered if he'd offended him; he'd only meant to help. Then Amadeus turned to Bruce and said, "Hey, Dr. Banner, I meant to ask, when's the snow date for the Winter Joy Toy Parade?"

"Next Saturday," Bruce answered. He took a tiny sip of wine. "Starting at 3pm."

"Cool, I'll see you there. My sister Maddie is really excited."

"Snow date?" Tony asked.

Bruce's hazel eyes widened. "Oh no, didn't Darcy tell you? I'm sorry, I should have followed up, but we've just both been running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to get everything ready for the storm. It—um—the forecast had been going back and forth but now all meteorologists seem to agree a blizzard's coming in tomorrow, so, the parade is postponed. I—I really appreciate that you were willing to be in it, though."

"Oh." Tony said. Come to think of it, there _had_ been a weather alert on his phone but he'd dismissed it.

"Sorry if it screws up your flight. You were planning on leaving tomorrow night, right?"

Tony said. "I'll have my assistant look into it, I'm sure she can figure something out. I—um—I can probably come back for the rescheduled parade, though. If you want."

"Really? You—you're not too busy?"

Tony probably _was_ too busy, but he'd had most of a bottle of wine and Bruce's eyes looked so beautiful. He wanted to make Bruce happy. Feeling suffused with good will, he said, "I'm sure we can figure something out. I—uh, it's been really good to see you, and I just want to say—that I forgive you."

Bruce blinked rapidly. "What?"

"For—I know we were both young, and I know it was a hard situation, and—and I forgive you."

"_You_ forgive _me_?" Bruce asked. He was taking short, shallow breaths and his eyes no longer looked quite so beautiful. They looked furious. "Wow, how _magnanimous_ of you." 

"Bruce?" His old friend was visibly trying to keep his calm.

"I—Tony—I—" Bruce shook his head and failed at his attempt to stay calm. He stood up, threw some cash on the table, and stormed out of the restaurant.

"What the fuck?" Tony muttered to himself. While he was processing, the guy who'd brought the wine approached his table.

"Hi, Mr. Stark, did you enjoy your dinner?"

Tony didn't know how to respond to that. The man took in Tony's face and continued, "Uh, well, my name's Scott, I'm the owner, let me know if there's anything I can do to...help?"

"No, I don't think so," Tony said. Scott looked unexpectedly crestfallen, but he nodded and left Tony alone.

Amadeus reappeared at the table. "Did you guys want any dessert? Tonight's special is a lavender-earl grey honeyed teacake."

Tony forced a smile. "Ah, no thanks, just the check, please. Bruce had to leave early, because of the...snow." He paid the full bill, on principle, and left all of Bruce's cash on the table as a very generous tip for their young waiter. Tony had had a tough high school experience, no doubt about it, but at least he hadn't had to work two jobs on top of everything else. 

He was probably too drunk to drive, and it would be humiliating to get pulled over by Snow Falls police. But luckily, the shitty chain hotel he was staying at was just down the street. Easily walkable, even with the howling wind and light snow already beginning to fall. Luckier still, he passed a liquor store on the way. He grabbed a bottle of vodka and went up to his room, where he multitasked by simultaneously drinking, feeling sorry for himself, and video-calling Rhodey, who vowed to get on the first flight out to Iowa to defend Tony's honor.

"_Ohio,_" Tony replied through laughter.

"Oh, right. Well, never mind, I don't want to go to Ohio, sounds shitty there."

"It's actually a pretty cute town, it…_fuck_, Rhodey, I just don't get it. I was ready to forgive him and move on but...I guess he didn't want that?"

"Some people are just screwed up, man," Rhodey said wisely. "At least you tried. Are you still coming back tomorrow?"

"Oh fuck, I should probably look into that. I kind of want to just leave tonight. I'm not sure if I'm even still invited for the parade thing but I definitely don't want to go to it now. But there's a storm coming or something...let me call Pepper. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Take care, Tony. Love you."

"Love you too." Tony hung up and stared at the screen. At least he had his best friend in his corner. That was always good to be reminded of. 

Unfortunately, his call to Pepper brought him worse news. Apparently, if he wanted to get out of Ohio, he should have checked his earlier messages from her and left before his dinner with Bruce. _If only_. Instead, he was stuck there until Sunday at the earliest. Having a private jet would only get him so far if his pilot couldn't get FAA clearance to take off; apparently the storm was coming in from the east and if they tried to leave now, they'd be flying into the worst of it.

Tony was too drunk and too un-prepared to be productive. He turned on the TV and flipped aimlessly through channels until he passed out into a fitful sleep. He couldn't wait to get the fuck out of Ohio.


	5. Baby, It's Cold Outside

Bruce got home from dinner in a terrible mood. He was mad at Darcy for inviting Tony. He was mad at Tony for accepting, for...for a lot of things. And most of all, he was mad at himself for daring to get his hopes up. At first, it had been so nice to see Tony again. He really was handsome, and he was so engaging. Almost flirty, even. Bruce had truly enjoyed their conversation. Up until Tony revealed that he didn't think _he_ had anything to apologize for. That he _forgave_ Bruce. For what? Taking the fall for Tony's misdemeanor? Was Bruce just supposed to be so grateful for the privilege of Tony's company that he'd be willing to pay that price without complaint? He wasn't even mad about getting expelled anymore; he'd long since come to terms with that, and his life after Vision Academy had been fine. Better than Bruce could have expected. But still, it hurt that Tony didn't even care about what he'd done to Bruce. 

Cosmo could tell that something was off, and he tried his best to cheer Bruce up with his friendly kisses and nuzzles. It helped a bit; it was awfully hard to stay mad with Cosmo's cute little face looking up at him. But Bruce was still grumpy when he fell asleep, and grumpy when he awoke the next morning. He remained grumpy when he took Cosmo out for a walk, and even when his mom made cinnamon rolls from a can. After she handed him a warm cinnamon roll on a plate, she said, "Gotta have a good breakfast before we start decorating this morning!"

He sighed. "Oh, yeah, that's fine."

She raised her eyebrows. "I mean, we don't have to, it's just tradition…but the parade did get rescheduled, so I guess we should reschedule decorations too."

The Winter Joy Toy Parade was always the first weekend in December, and they always put up their Christmas decorations before the parade. At least, that was the tradition they'd started after Bruce's father had gone to jail. Then, Bruce and his mom could safely indulge their love of Christmas without worrying about Brian screaming about the cost of the electricity bill or the gifts or how much he hated the smell of pine or whatever other minor thing he found to get mad about. Bruce did _not_ want to follow in his father's footsteps of being randomly outraged by holiday decor. He hated bringing this stupid bad mood home with him.

Bruce took a deep breath and tried to smile. For his mom. For Christmas. "No, yeah, let's do it. Sorry, I'm just a little stressed."

"Of course, honey, this blizzard is going to be a lot of work for you and everybody else in town. There's already almost a foot of snow on the ground and it's just getting started!"

Bruce ate a bite of cinnamon roll and nodded. "Yeah. I'll go out and start shoveling in a bit, but...you're right, I'm sure I'll feel better when we get the decorations up." He checked his email on his phone and saw that things were going more or less as well as they could be. The salt trucks and plows were doing their best, and the power company had extra employees on standby for the inevitable outages. The high school and senior center were ready to serve as warming shelters. Bruce and his coworkers had done their prep work well, and now all they had to do was wait. And pull boxes of knick-knacks down from the attic.

While his mom blasted Christmas music and cleaned up from breakfast, he started bringing down boxes. He did start to feel better as soon as he opened the first box. He put a funny little snowman centerpiece on the kitchen table, surrounded by a set of handmade doilies. Their coal and carrot faces seemed quietly sympathetic. 

He glanced out the window and said dryly, "I think I'll wait on the outside lights."

"Oh, absolutely, you shouldn't get up on the roof in this weather! But honey, come look at this." His mom hung a big wreath made from Christmas cards inside the front hall. Every year they clipped in new ones, but they kept old favorites in the wreath from year to year. She unclipped a card and handed it to him. "You could show your friend."

Bruce blinked down at the card. It was heavy in his hands, made from fine cardstock. The front had a watercolor of a beautiful mansion, tastefully decorated for the holidays. He didn't remember seeing the card before. He opened it and was stunned to recognize Tony's precise handwriting. The date in the top right corner marked it as being from the year Bruce had been expelled from Vision Academy.

_Dear Bruce,_

_Merry Christmas, I guess._

_I thought you were staying at school for winter break, but I called the dorm phone and Forsythe said you went home. I tried to call you at home but I keep getting an "out of service" error. Maybe I have the wrong number? Hope everything's okay._

_Anyway, I wish I had better news on my end, but no point in glossing over it. My parents were both killed in a car accident on December 16th. We're not having the funeral until January, I guess because it's pretty depressing to have a Christmas funeral. If I sent you a plane ticket, do you think you could come? I know it's a shitty way to spend Christmas break but it would mean a lot to me if you were there._

_I won't be returning to Vision Academy in the spring. I'll miss you so much but my Aunt Peggy wants me to stay closer to home, and I have enough credits that I'll be able to graduate early. I know you hate email but please call me, or write to me. Here's my contact information._

_Love,_

_Tony_

"Oh Jesus. Oh fuck," Bruce said. 

"What is it?"

"I—Mom, has this been here this whole time? I don't—I don't remember seeing it before. When did it come? Was it—"

Her lips grew tight and her eyes welled with tears. "Oh, Bruce, I'm so sorry for everything, I—that Christmas was so awful, and you were so out of it while you were recovering..."

"Mom! I don't blame you for that, I'm not asking you to apologize for what happened, I, just, this card…"

"I would have sworn I brought it for you to see in the hospital. I thought it was so nice that your roommate wrote to you. I was so happy you made a friend...but maybe I just stuck it in the wreath? It was the first year we had that card wreath, remember? I put magazine ads in it so it wouldn’t look so pathetic...I was just trying so hard to make things cheerful."

Bruce looked at the wreath now, which these days always bulged with dozens of cards. His memories of that winter were hazy, dimmed by morphine and time. Maybe she _had_ shown it to him and he'd forgotten? But no matter how drugged up he'd been, he felt confident that this message would have been indelibly etched into his memory, if only he'd seen it. But his mom already felt so guilty about Bruce's Christmas in the hospital that he hated to do anything to make her worse.

"Yeah. No, I'm sure you did, I'm just going to go, um, make a phone call..."

His mom looked at him with concern, but Bruce was beyond the ability to explain everything that the card meant to him. He clutched the card and ran upstairs for a moment of privacy. He'd heard about Tony's parents after the fact, of course, but he hadn't quite put together the timing—how their deaths had so precisely coincided with Bruce’s expulsion from school. He hadn’t known that Tony had tried to invite him to their funeral. He hadn't known that Tony had tried to talk to him at all. And Tony had forgiven him for seeming to blow off his parents' funeral.

Now, Bruce tried to call Tony, but realized he'd never added Tony's cell phone to his contacts. He found it in his email and called. It went to voicemail. He understood why Tony wouldn’t want to take his call, after the way Bruce had behaved at dinner; Bruce hung up, unsure what to say in a message's time limits. He thought about texting but that felt even worse. What he had to say was too monumental for a text message. 

He had Tony's hotel information in his email; he was scheduled to stay until Sunday. But maybe he would have left early to avoid the storm? Armed with Tony's reservation confirmation number, Bruce called the hotel and was elated to hear that Mr. Stark hadn't checked out. He asked to be put through to Tony's room, but it rang and rang with no answer. Bruce finally hung up, got dressed in his warmest layers and went back downstairs, where he pulled his parka off the coat rack.

"Mom, I'm going out for a bit."

"Oh, honey, the shoveling can wait. It's so windy, it's just drifting anyway." She looked worried.

"Yeah, no, I—just, there's something I gotta do." He tucked the card into his parka's inside pocket. 

"Well, be careful. I love you."

"Love you too!" He grabbed a snow shovel, and set out on foot toward the highway. It was only a few miles to Tony's hotel. The roads were too hazardous to drive, but Bruce biked further than that all the time. With all of his high-performance winter layers on, he should be able to walk the distance.

But as he trudged onward, Bruce came to understand that he had misjudged this blizzard. Despite all of his layers, the wind felt like it was blowing right through him, finding every small gap in his outerwear. His parka and boots were waterproof, but his scarf—handmade by his mom—was not, and his face was soaked. As he trudged down the sidewalk, a few citizens ran out to invite him in with promises of cocoa, but Bruce persisted. He was sure Tony would leave town as soon as the roads were cleared, and Bruce couldn’t risk missing him. He’d already missed the last fifteen years. 

If he hadn't walked up and down every block of this town, knocking on doors for his mayoral campaign, he would have gotten lost in the white-out conditions for sure. As it was, when he finally made it inside the hotel lobby, he could barely walk. He ached from the cold; he could feel every last one of his long-healed broken bones. The desk clerk called out to him in alarm, but Bruce ignored her. He took the elevator up, fruitlessly wiped at his fogged-up glasses, and stumbled to Tony's door. He knocked with as much strength as he could muster and called, "Tony! Tony, I'm sorry!" 

He thought he might pass out here in the hallway, but eventually Tony called through the door, "Who's there?"

Bruce realized that he was covered head to toe in winter clothing, and that the clothing was all caked in snow. He dropped his shovel with a clang. He pulled off his hood, hat, and scarf and dusted the snow off his face before peering back up at the peephole. "T-Tony?"

"Oh my god, _Bruce_?"

The door swung open and Bruce stumbled inside. "Tony, I'm so sorry." 

Tony shook his head. "Bruce, are you okay? I can't understand you. Jesus, your lips are literally blue, I didn't think that actually happened in real life. God, should I call a doctor or something?"

Bruce blinked. He hadn't had any other plan besides getting to Tony. Now that he'd done that, he found himself at a loss for next steps.

Tony drew a breath. "Okay. Um. Why don't you take off your wet clothes?" Bruce stood still, trying to understand. Tony put his hand on Bruce's back and guided him into the room's bathroom. "There's towels in there, and, uh, I'll find something for you to wear, okay?"

Bruce finally nodded. It felt so nice and warm inside, but Tony was probably right. In the bathroom, he struggled to pull off his clothes with frozen fingers. After awhile, Tony came in and helped him, then wrapped him up in a scratchy towel.

"Let's get you dried off and then you can put on these dry clothes, okay?" Tony set a bundle on the bathroom counter. Bruce nodded and stared up at the flickering fluorescent light. He knew his mind needed to tell his body to do something, but the very idea of it seemed too exhausting. "Bruce, I'm really worried."

"S-sorry," Bruce managed through chattering teeth.

Tony sighed and shook his head. Then he helped Bruce pull on soft sweatpants and a long-sleeved MIT T-shirt. Tony deposited Bruce on the edge of the room's king-size bed. He held Bruce's feet in his hands, and Bruce managed a wheezing giggle. Even his lungs hurt from the cold.

"Feels okay?" Tony asked.

"Tickles…"

Tony laughed. "Okay. But they're not numb? They don't look frostbitten..."

Bruce nodded, and Tony carefully pulled thick socks over Bruce's feet.

"Why don't you get under the covers?" Bruce sat up in the bed with the blankets pulled over him and watched as Tony turned on the tiny coffeemaker and then brought over a steaming Styrofoam cup. Bruce just held the cup in his hands for a long while, enjoying its warmth as his teeth eventually stopped chattering.

"Tony, I'm sorry," Bruce said, after the coffee warmed his lips enough to speak somewhat normally. His skin tingled unpleasantly as sensation returned to his numb skin, but he knew he needed to power through and give Tony the explanation he deserved.

"You said that already," Tony said with a lopsided smile. He took down an extra blanket from the closet and wrapped it around Bruce's shoulders.

"I—I mean—no, I—" Bruce tried to squirm out of the covers, but Tony gently pressed his hands down on Bruce's blanketed shoulders.

"Bruce, please just stay put until you thaw out."

"But I—I wanted to show you—I have—" But it felt like an impossible distance to cross the room to get to his discarded parka, so he decided to persevere without his piece of evidence. "Tony, I'm sorry, I just got your Christmas card."

"What?"

"The one you sent me, after—after your parents died, I'm so sorry, Tony, I never saw it before, I never got it, I didn't know."

"Oh. _Oh._"

"I didn't know, Tony, I was so mad at you and so messed up and I—I didn't know. I mean I eventually heard that your parents died but I didn't know about the funeral—I would have come. Of course I would have come. I'm so sorry I didn't."

Tony let go of Bruce's shoulders. He sat at the room's office chair, across from the bed, and nodded slowly. He was wearing red silk pajamas and he looked so good. He said, "Okay."

"I sent you letters though...to the school. I thought you…" Bruce's voice broke. He felt like he might cry, but his tear ducts still felt frozen. "I thought you forgot me."

"Never," Tony said thickly. "But...didn't you...you didn't go back to Vision Academy either? You didn't see that I wasn't there?"

Bruce shook his head "no."

"Why not?"

"Oh! I got expelled."

"_What_? Why? You were such a good student."

"Because of the pot in our room."

"The—oh my god, I forgot about that. Aw, fuck. But why didn't you just tell them it was mine?"

Bruce shrugged, though the gesture was hidden by blankets. His muscles ached and his skin burned as feeling returned to frozen extremities. "Didn't want you to get in trouble with your dad. Didn't think anyone would believe me. Didn't matter."

Tony sighed. "Bruce…"

"I...did kind of hope _you_ would say something to them, but...I guess you didn't know."

Tony shook his head. "Bruce, I swear, I would have, if I'd known. But my Aunt Peggy withdrew me from that school and I never heard anything...everything happened so fast after my parents' accident."

Bruce said, "Of course. I understand now. Anyway, I'm sure they were happy to have an excuse to get rid of a scholarship student."

"Bruce, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay! In the end, it was kind of for the best, I guess. Except—except that I lost you."

"What do you mean it was for the best?"

Bruce looked down at his lap.

Tony said, "Do—maybe you should take a break and tell me the rest later?"

But Bruce shook his head and looked back up at Tony's concerned face. "No, I want to...I just...you know my father was abusive?" Back then, he'd never quite told Tony the full extent of what his family was like, but he knew Tony had developed a pretty good idea.

Tony came to sit next to Bruce on the bed. "Yeah," he said softly, slipping his arm around Bruce's back. Bruce was glad, both for Tony's added warmth next to him and for not having to look Tony in the eye as he told this next part.

"Like...severely abusive. I always tried so hard not to get in trouble at school because the littlest thing would set him off. So, uh, when I got expelled from boarding school…"

"Oh god."

"He...it was...pretty bad, I was in the hospital for...awhile…I'm sure that's how your card got lost in the shuffle...things were...we...I...but! It was so bad that my dad went to jail and my mom was finally able to leave him for real. So that was good, actually."

"Oh my god, Bruce."

Bruce looked over at Tony, who didn't seem to be understanding. He looked so sad even though Bruce was telling him good news. "No, but...but it got rid of him. So it was worth it. But after I got home, I heard about your parents, in the news, and I tried to send you condolences...I sent you letters at school in the spring semester, but I never heard back."

Tony's brow furrowed. "I never got any letters. Oh...I guess maybe we never set a forwarding address at the school? Kind of rude, though, they certainly knew where to find me when they wanted donations…" Lightening his tone, he added, "Too bad you were so into the prestige of letter-writing that you never set up an email address like I kept asking you to do."

"That wasn't an affectation," Bruce mumbled. He'd almost forgotten about his feigned commitment to writing longhand, despite his awful handwriting. "My family didn't have a computer."

"Shit! I should have...but Bruce, if you would have just said, you know I would have gotten one for you."

"That's kind of why I didn't say." Bruce had always felt self-conscious about the extravagant gifts Tony gave him, knowing he could never reciprocate.

"Oh, Bruce." 

"Right. Well, so, anyway, since I got expelled and never heard from you, I thought you...I thought…"

"You thought I let you take the fall for my little greenhouse project and then cut off all ties with you?"

Bruce nodded drowsily, relieved that Tony had put it into words. "Mm."

"I guess that explains why you didn't try to reach out to me some other way," Tony said. "You must have thought I was a real dirtbag."

"But I—I should have...'m sorry." Bruce should have known that Tony wouldn't have done that to him. Tony had always been so kind and generous to him, for no reason that Bruce could ever determine. But deep down, Bruce had always been afraid that Tony would come to his senses and leave him, so it had been easy for him to accept what he believed to be the bitter truth.

"Yeah. Well. You and me both," Tony said. He gently pushed Bruce down onto the bed. "Hey, why don't you take a little nap?"

"Mmph." Bruce knew he hadn't been awake for very long, but he was exhausted from his walk, not to mention from the emotional effort he'd been expending. Tony stood up and Bruce let out an involuntary whimper at the loss of his body heat.

Tony let out a low laugh. "You want me to stay?"

"Mm-hmm. Please? You're warm."

"Okay. Let me get situated." Tony slipped under the covers and wrapped his arms around Bruce, spooning him from behind. He was so warm. "This okay?"

"Mm." It was better than okay.

"Jesus, you still feel cold. Can't believe you walked through that fucking blizzard! Don't you have a phone?"

"You didn't answer," Bruce mumbled. "I didn't want to miss you...I missed you so much."

"You could have texted!" Tony said, but he tightened his arms around Bruce.

"Sorry," Bruce said again, before drifting into a comfortable sleep.


	6. Let It Snow

Tony listened as Bruce's breathing leveled out into sleep, punctuated by soft snores. He struggled to process everything that had happened that morning. He couldn't believe that his relationship with Bruce had unraveled so quickly after just a few missed connections, or that Bruce had gotten expelled over Tony's youthful shenanigans. And now he couldn't believe that Bruce had made such an arduous trek just to talk to Tony. No one had ever done anything like that for Tony—just to talk to him, not to ask for any favors. 

It had been years since Tony had thought about the weed he'd try to grow in their dorm room. Bruce had been nervous when Tony set up the light and growing pots in their closet, but Bruce had _always_ been nervous. That was why Tony wanted to grow the pot in the first place, to help his high-strung boyfriend unwind. He'd assured Bruce up and down that they wouldn't get caught, and if they _did_, they'd just get a slap on the wrist. Apparently, Tony had been wrong about that, and Bruce had paid the price. Bruce was probably right that Vision Academy had been less sympathetic to Bruce because he was there on scholarship, which wouldn't have occurred to Tony. Just another thing that Tony would never be able to make amends for. He sighed and squeezed Bruce in a gentle hug, silently apologizing with his body.

Holding Bruce so close reminded Tony of high school again. This time around, the bed was much bigger, but he was still pressed up tight against Bruce as if they were trying to share a twin bed again. Of course, that had been easy to do back then: they’d both been small, but Bruce had been particularly scrawny for his age, skinny and short even when he wasn't hunched inward to make himself look even smaller. Bruce must have hit a late growth spurt after leaving Vision Academy. He wasn't a giant by any means, but he'd hit a perfectly average height, and he felt comfortingly solid in Tony's arms. 

Thinking about Bruce's former skittish demeanor made Tony felt a renewed burst of outrage at what Bruce's father had done to him. He'd known things were bad at Bruce's home, but he hadn't realized they were quite like that. He should have realized it from Bruce’s nightmares, from the way Bruce used to flinch away from even a high five, before Tony had earned his trust. Impulsively, Tony leaned in and kissed Bruce's cheek, happy to find Bruce's skin warm to the touch.

Bruce didn't wake, but Tony immediately felt self-conscious about the kiss. What _were_ they doing now? Had Bruce come through the snow with romantic intentions? Or simply to clear up an old misunderstanding? Was Bruce curled up against Tony now because he wanted to rekindle their intimate relationship? Or was it just because he'd almost frozen to death?

Tony let his eyes fall shut and decided to worry about it later. He'd been sleeping badly ever since he'd learned what Stark weapons were capable of, but last night he'd slept particularly fitfully. By the time Bruce had knocked on his door, Tony had probably only been asleep for a few hours. He was hungover, both physically and emotionally. He could certainly do with a nap. He dozed off and slept peacefully until his bladder finally woke him back up.

He checked on Bruce—still sleeping, but warm and breathing steadily. Tony gently extricated himself from the bed and went to the bathroom, which was strewn with Bruce's wet clothes. After taking care of his own business, Tony hung the clothes up in the shower to dry—and startled when he realized Bruce's pants were vibrating. He fished a phone out from the pocket and saw it was lighting up with a call from "Mom." He hesitated, then answered it.

"Uh, hello?"

"Bruce?" asked a woman, who sounded frantic. Which was fair, given her son's impromptu Jack London impression. "Where are you?"

"Ah, no, it's not Bruce, but he's okay! He's asleep."

"Oh, thank God. Where is he? Who's this? Is he in the hospital? I've been calling and calling…"

"I'm so sorry. No, he's not in the hospital, he's at the Holly Days Inn."

"What? How did he get there?"

"He, um, walked, it would seem."

"What? But that's miles...who is this? Can I please talk to him?"

"Oh! I'm Tony. Stark. Uh. Bruce's...friend from boarding school? Bruce came to see me." He knew that as kids, Bruce had never told his parents about their relationship. He'd said his mom would be fine with it but that she could never keep secrets from his dad, who...wouldn't be fine with it. Tony felt a small bit of resentment building in him; he knew this woman had been a victim, too, but he couldn't help but wish she'd done more to look out for Bruce.

"Oh, Tony!" Her voice warmed. "Oh my god, I found that card of yours this morning, I thought it would be fun if he showed it to you but I didn't mean _right that second_."

"You thought it would be fun?" Tony repeated incredulously. He remembered writing that card to deliver his terrible news to Bruce. It was hardly a light-hearted bit of Christmas cheer.

"You know, school memories and all that? Nostalgia? It was such a beautiful card..."

"Ohh. You didn't read it, though?"

"Oh. Um. No?" She sounded nervous. "I just loved that image of your family's house, I...is everything okay?"

"Yeah, uh...I'll make sure Bruce calls you as soon as he wakes up, okay? I think he should just rest right now. He was pretty worn out from his walk."

"Did you check his pulse? Or blood flow to his extremities? He could have serious frostbite if he was exposed to this weather for so long."

"I promise he's safe and warm, breathing and everything," Tony said lightly. When she didn't laugh, he added, "Really, I lent him some dry clothes and he's under blankets with the thermostat cranked up. I used to go skiing a lot, I know how to handle the cold. I'll take care of him."

"Alright," she agreed reluctantly. "Well...thank you. it was nice to finally talk to you, Tony. Once the roads get cleared up, you should come back to the house. We'll make Christmas cookies."

"That sounds nice, thank you, Mrs. Banner."

"Oh, I go by my maiden name now," she said, and Tony winced at his mistake. Of course she would. "Rebecca Drake. But you can just call me Rebecca."

"Of course. Bye, Rebecca, I'll see you later." He hung up and stared down at Bruce's phone, whose lock screen showed a riot of missed calls and texts, all of which would have to wait for a response. He plugged it in on the bedside table and slipped back into bed, stealing a few more cozy moments until Bruce woke up. 

Eventually, Bruce began to stir. He rolled over and blinked up at Tony. There was a soft expression on his face that made Tony want to kiss him. Instead, he said, "Hey, uh...you should call your mom."

Bruce's sleepy eyes widened into fully-awake panic and he sat up, running a hand through his adorably disheveled curls. "Shit! She must be freaking out."

Tony sat up and handed him the phone. "I, uh, I answered one of her calls while you were asleep, hope that's okay."

"Oh. Um, yeah, thanks."

"She wanted me to check your pulse."

Bruce's lips quirked. "Sounds about right. She's a nurse now."

"I told her you were okay but needed to rest, but I promised I'd tell you to call her. So, uh...yeah, you should call her. Don't want your mom to think I'm a liar," Tony said. 

Tony stepped out of bed to give Bruce a tiny bit of privacy. Rebecca's earlier mention of cookies had made him realize he was hungry, not to mention still slightly hungover. He looked around for any information about room service, though a sinking suspicion settled in over him.

When Bruce got off the phone, Tony sat on the edge of the bed and asked, "Hey, how are you feeling? Still got all your fingers and toes and everything?"

Bruce laughed and nodded. "I'm fine, Tony, I...thank you. I know it was weird of me to crash like this, I just..."

Tony shook his head dismissively. "I'm glad you did. You hungry?"

"I could eat."

"Me too. But, uh...this place doesn't have room service, does it?"

Bruce snorted. "Where do you think you are? _Cleveland_?"

"Is that a 'no'?"

"It's close enough to the Pizza Hut that they could probably still deliver if I ask nicely."

"Pizza Hut?" Tony recoiled. "Bruce, I know it's been awhile, but you remember I'm from New York, right?"

"Desperate times…"

"No, no, they can't be that desperate." Tony opened Postmates on his phone and was saddened, though unsurprised, to find nothing in range.

"Well...I think there's a vending machine in the lobby. Oh, you know, Quantum Cafe is probably still open. They don't deliver, but that's close enough to walk."

Tony eyed Bruce skeptically before remembering, "The place from last night?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Yeah, that probably _is_ close enough to walk. Unlike wherever you came from this morning," Tony scolded.

Bruce shrugged, a helpless look on his face. "I'll just call to make sure they're open." He did so, nodded, and started to get out of bed.

"Hey, whoa, where do you think you're going?"

"To...lunch?" Bruce asked. "At Quantum Cafe? Like we just talked about?"

"No, no way, your clothes are all still wet. You stay here and I'll bring back takeout. What do you want?"

"Oh. Uh, soup? Tomato soup, if they have it."

"You got it." 

"Thank you, Tony."

"No problem. I promised your mom I'd take care of you."

Bruce ducked his head and smiled. Seeing Bruce in his shirt, in his bed, did something to Tony's heart.

Tony added, "I’ll take my medal later."

"Medal?"

"For saving the mayor’s life."

"Oh! Of course. I’ll see what Darcy can come up with."

Tony grinned and pulled on his clothes. He hadn't packed nearly the kind of winter gear that Bruce had been wearing, but surely he'd be okay just to cross the street in his leather jacket. Tony hesitated before leaving the room. He wanted to kiss Bruce but instead he squeezed his shoulder. "Stay put, okay?"

"Okay," Bruce agreed. "But come back soon or I'll send the dogs after you." He furrowed his brows. "You remember where it was, right?"

"It's like five feet away."

"But it's so snowy now. Well, if you hit the Huck's, you went too far. Or if you hit the highway, you went too far in the wrong direction."

"Got it."

"And you have your phone?"

"I have it."

"Just be careful."

"Can't believe I'm taking safety advice from _you_," Tony grumbled.

"I'm a cautionary tale!"

"You're something," Tony said, before stepping out into the dingy hallway. 

"Be careful out there!" the desk clerk called as Tony passed through the lobby. "The wind chill is like negative twenty."

"I'm not going too far," Tony promised, and then he plunged outside into the fucking Antarctic. The wind felt like a knife cutting into him. How on Earth had Bruce made it so far in this awful weather? He shivered and pushed himself down the barren street, his hands tucked as deep into his pockets as he could get them. He spotted his rental car, nearly buried in snow in the Quantum Cafe parking lot. It was the only car there, but at least the cafe's lights were on and a path to their door had been roughly shoveled out.

He burst into the cafe, breathing hard. "Whoa! You okay?" asked a woman, whose voice sounded familiar.

Tony brushed snow out of his eyes and blinked as he recognized the StarKids factory forewoman. Foreperson. "Hope? Do you work here too?"

"Oh, Tony!" Her eyes narrowed slightly, though she remained polite. "Hi. No, not really. But my partner owns it so I help out in a pinch. What can I get for you? We're on kind of a limited menu right now, we missed a shipment from our supplier with the storm." She pointed out a chalkboard. 

Tony studied it for a second. After finding it free of grasshoppers (and inclusive of tomato soup, although it was technically "tomato-basil soup with balsamic vinegar", but he was sure Bruce would appreciate that), he declared, "I'll take two of everything. To go."

She raised her eyebrows. "Gearing up for hibernation?"

"Mostly I just don't want to have to go outside again until this is all over," he replied, waving his hand vaguely toward the window.

"Mm. Yeah, I hear that. You staying over at the Holly Days Inn?"

"Yeah."

She nodded and rang him up. "Scott'll get started on that, but it'll be a few minutes if you want to take a seat."

He settled in at the nearest table and pulled out his phone.

**Text message from Tony Stark**: Made it to the cafe BTW but waiting for food. It's awful out here, I can't believe you walked so far in this weather!

**Text message from Bruce Banner**: Glad you made it. Hurry back, it’s my turn to warm you up.

Tony grinned down at his phone, and then looked up to see Hope van Dyne hovering in front of his table with a paper cup.

"Hey, I brought you some coffee. If you want."

"Thanks!" Tony took it with a nod, surprised at the gesture. He meant to return to his phone, but she cleared her throat and he looked back up at her.

"So, I was just wondering, um, if you'd decided what you were going to do with the factory?"

"Do with it?"

"Well, I mean...since you were retrofitting all your other factories, there are a lot of rumors...I mean, we all saw you on the Daily Show so based on what you said there, we thought you might..." she trailed off and gave him a sharp look. "So you want to keep us open?"

"Of course. I've pledged that all SI jobs will be safe. I told you that."

"But will they be jobs making toys?"

Tony let out a little huff. He was tired and hungry and anxious about what, exactly, his high school boyfriend was doing in his bed right now. He did not want to be having this conversation right now with a woman who clearly hated him. "I mean, it's been like twelve hours since I toured the facility so I haven't made any major decisions, but regardless, I'm obviously not going to close a _toy factory_ in _December_."

"Ah. But in January?" He tilted his head, and she continued, "It's just, I'm responsible for a lot of people. I want to let them know if they need to start thinking about finding new jobs."

"Hope, I promise you, all your jobs are safe. I know I've been making some big changes, but I haven't let anyone go from any of my factories."

"Right. And I appreciate that, but...the toy factory is kind of...a big deal around here. People have really fond memories of it. We're proud of what we make here."

Tony forced a smile. "You should be proud! But I'm proud of all of Stark Industries' products, and ultimately, aren't solar panels much more important than toys?"

Hope's facial expression did not indicate agreement, but before she could respond, Scott, whose nervous energy Tony remembered from the night before, appeared with two large bags.

"Hey, Mr. Stark, welcome back!" he said. "I double-bagged everything so I think it should make it back to your hotel okay."

"Thanks, I appreciate it!"

Scott added, "Hey, so I was just wondering—" Tony looked as Hope shook her head "no." Scott coughed and said, "wondering if you were enjoying your time in Snow Falls."

"Well, it lives up to the name," Tony said dryly. 

"Ha, good one!" Scott said. "The town's actually named for this waterfall, though, it's really pretty if you ever get a chance to see it sometime when the weather is nicer…"

"Yeah, maybe! Anyway, glad you guys were open today. I'm going to head back out into the abyss."

Tony braced himself for the unpleasant walk back to the hotel. Back in the room, he shed his snow-covered clothes and got back in pajamas. Bruce was sitting up in bed, intently reading on his phone, but he smiled up at Tony.

"You made it!"

"Seriously, it's awful out there. But I think I got enough food that we won't have to leave again until it stops snowing." He set his bags down on the desk and started opening containers.

"Wait, you didn't have any gloves?" Bruce put down his phone. He got out of bed and squeezed Tony's hands, gently warming them. It felt nice, but oddly intimate. Tony knew that most people would say snuggling someone was more intimate that hand holding, but they’d been back-to-front in bed. Now Tony was looking into Bruce’s deep, warm eyes. A person could get lost in Bruce’s eyes, if they weren’t careful. And Tony wasn’t known for being careful. 

Finally, Bruce asked, "Better?"

"Hmm? Oh, uh huh, thanks," Tony said. He forced himself to pull his warmed hands away from Bruce's. He wanted to keep holding them, to pull Bruce close and kiss him, but this renewed connection with Bruce felt so fragile. He needed to be more cautious than usual. Reluctantly breaking eye contact with Bruce, he glanced back at the desk and said, "Uh, we should eat before it gets cold. Er."

"Right. Yeah. Wow, you got a lot of food." 

"I didn't want to have to go back outside if we wanted seconds."

Tony took the first container off the top of a stack—which turned out to be some kind of pasta—and sat on top of the bed's gross comforter. Bruce took more time surveying his options and joined him with a Styrofoam cup of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. (The grilled cheese had no strange ingredients in it, just cheese. The menu had attributed its recipe to someone named Cassie.) For a while, they ate together quietly, both glancing at their phones. 

When they finished lunch, Tony asked, "Everything look okay, you know, town-wise?"

"As far as I can tell. I usually try to get out and check on some of the more vulnerable folks personally but I just can't until the roads get a little more clear."

"You seem like a really great mayor."

"I hope so. I'm trying. I just...it's a lot of responsibility." Then Bruce made a rueful expression and said, "Of course, I'm probably responsible for about one percent as many people as you are."

Tony bit his lip. There was that word again, "responsibility." He thought about Hope and the factory workers, and tried to sound casual as he asked, "Hey, Brucie, did you watch me on the Daily Show a couple of weeks ago?"

Bruce got a deer-in-headlights look on his face but he nodded. "Yeah, I—I usually watch the Daily Show."

"Did you...uh, what did you think?"

Bruce licked his lips. "Tony, I—to be honest, I've been mostly avoiding your media appearances as much as I could because it—it was just too painful."

"Oh." Tony swallowed and pushed aside thoughts of the factory. "Because of what you thought I did to you?"

His voice barely audible, Bruce managed, "Because I missed you."

Tony took a second to be pleased that Bruce had missed him, but then he took in Bruce's miserable expression. "Hey, what's wrong?" 

"I...I just...it's embarrassing, I wish I could have moved on...the way you did, but I…"

"Bruce...I...I haven't moved on from you."

Bruce gave him a shy, sidelong look. "You 'not moving on' looks pretty different from me 'not moving on,'" he said softly. "I just always see you on magazine covers with a different date every week, and I…"

Tony set his jaw. He didn't want to be shamed for his life. "Well—Bruce, there are so many expectations on me...responsibilities...events I have to attend. And I...honestly, I didn't think I'd ever get a chance to reconnect with you. So I had to try to find someone else. But...there's no one like you."

Bruce blushed and really _looked_ at Tony, an intense, burning look that made Tony suck in a sharp breath. Bruce edged closer toward the middle of the bed—toward Tony—and Tony moved toward him, and then Bruce was on his lap, and then they were kissing, and then they were once again twined together under the sheets, this time wearing considerably less clothing than before.

After they'd cleaned up, Bruce said, sounding dazed, "Oh. That was worth risking frostbite for."

Tony laughed. He agreed, though he hadn't been the one risking life and limb for their reunion. "Definitely a fun way to conserve body heat."

"Oh? Was this medical treatment?"

"I mean, it's a multi-purpose activity. All kinds of health benefits. There are studies, you know."

"In that case, I'm glad I got to you. For health reasons."

"And I'm glad I always travel with a fully stocked toiletry bag." 

Bruce murmured, "You’re an excellent person to be snowed in with."

Tony stretched out on his back and Bruce curled up on his chest. Tony ran his fingers through Bruce's hair and asked, "So. What have you been up to?"

"For the last fifteen years?" Bruce asked wryly.

"Well, just the highlights."

Bruce laughed, but he obliged, and for awhile they simply caught up on each other's lives, speaking softly in the intimacy of the hotel room. Tony listened intently as Bruce told him about his return to public high school, his college and grad school career, and his eventual return to Snow Falls. It was clear that Bruce was glossing over some unpleasantness, but overall, it seemed that Bruce had fared well. Tony felt oddly proud of him; not in the sense of thinking he had anything to do with Bruce's success, but more like an appreciation for how far he knew Bruce had come.

In turn, Tony talked about breezing through MIT only to have to struggle to take over the huge company his father had left him, how hard it had been to earn the respect of people who'd been working with Howard for decades, how terrible it had been to truly reckon with the legacy of Stark Industries. And Bruce _listened_, he really did. Bruce had always been a great listener. 

Then Tony blurted out, "Do you think you'll stay in Snow Falls?" After he said it, he froze, thinking about the implications of what he was asking. He knew it was dumb to feel so strongly after a few hours of reconnecting with his high school boyfriend, but he really thought he could have a future with Bruce. But Tony didn't especially want that future to be in Ohio.

Bruce took a deep breath and said, thoughtfully, "I don't know. When I was a kid, all I wanted was to leave and never come back...but it turns out that what I hated wasn't the town, it was just my father."

Tony _hmm_-ed softly and rubbed Bruce's shoulders.

Bruce continued, "Growing up here, I thought...I thought nobody cared about what happened to my mom and me. But I didn't realize how many people were trying to help...I mean, even when I think about how my middle school guidance counselor got me that scholarship to Vision Academy? She must have really put in a lot of time on that. It never would have occurred to me or my mom to think about applying for something like that. And then after my father...well, so people were happy to help us, once my mom and I gave them a chance. Living here was totally different after that. That said, I'm halfway through my mayoral term and I don't think I want to run again."

"No? Seems like people here love you. You don't like the job?"

"Well, I like parts of it. A lot of it is really just listening to people. And I like that, I like when I can help people," Bruce said earnestly. "But it's just...it's just a lot of pressure. And it's not really...I'm trying my best, but the big picture stuff...I never studied business or law or anything. I just...I'm just a scientist, really."

"How _did_ you come to be mayor, anyway? I mean, I heard about your school board thing but…"

"Ugh. That was so embarrassing, I just feel like it makes this whole town sound so backwards and we're really not, not mostly. And I shouldn’t have lost my temper at that meeting…. The main person who led the charge against me, honestly, I'm sure he does believe in teaching evolution, he was just holding a weird grudge against me for dating his daughter in high school so he jumped at the chance to get me in trouble. But he and the rest of those old assholes got voted off the school board."

There was definitely a story there. Tony was curious but Bruce took a deep breath and continued, "Anyway, it was really Darcy's idea, she's my deputy mayor now, but she was working as the school secretary at the time. She'd just gotten her degree in poli sci, and she was too young to run for office herself but she...was very persuasive. And I didn't have a job, and I guess I just...I thought maybe I could use the office to help people," Bruce said, simply, and Tony pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"Well. If you ever want to try to help people outside of Ohio, the Stark Foundation is hiring, and I happen to know a guy…" Tony knew it was a big suggestion, and maybe he shouldn't have said it, but in that moment he just didn't ever want to let Bruce go.

"I'll keep that in mind. But I don't know, I'll probably try to look for professorships after my term ends." His answer made sense, but it couldn't help but feel like a rejection. Bruce softened it by adding, "Maybe I'll see if MIT is hiring. I think I know a guy…"

Tony laughed. "You do. Hey, I meant to ask, do you think I offended that kid Amadeus? I really was just trying to help…"

"Oh. Yeah, I know you were, but...well, yeah, I think he'd want to get into school on his own merits."

"I didn't mean to imply that he couldn't. But you know, plenty of other people don't have those qualms. He's not on a level playing field."

"I think he knows that," Bruce said gently. "But he's got his pride. For what it's worth, though, _I_ appreciate your offering. Hey, can you see if it's still snowing?" Bruce was still curled into Tony's chest, and Tony was happy that he didn't want to move.

Tony craned his neck to peer out the window. Part of him hoped it would be, just so he and Bruce could stay like this forever. "It's hard to tell. It might just be blowing around old snow?"

Bruce sighed. "I should check my phone," he said, but instead he burrowed his head more snugly under Tony's chin.

"If anything important happens today, I'm sure you'll hear about it."

"Didn't something important already happen today?" Bruce murmured, and Tony squeezed his arms around him tightly.


	7. Deck The Halls

When Bruce awoke on Sunday morning, he could tell that he'd slept later than usual, and his first thought was _Cosmo needs his walk_. But then he opened his eyes and remembered that it hadn't been a delicious dream—he really was snowed in at the Holly Days Inn with his incredibly handsome first love. They'd spent the past day together, catching up, watching bad reality television, and having a lot of sex. It had been the best snow day Bruce had ever had.

Now, he sat up in bed and scrolled through his emails. His progress was slow, as he kept taking breaks to watch Tony sleep. He felt that he was being a little bit creepy, but could anyone blame him? For years, he'd thought he'd never see Tony again, and now here he was, sleeping peacefully mere inches away. Bruce couldn't help but wonder when he'd see Tony again. Was this another one of Tony's one night stands? Would he go back to New York and never return? What reason did Tony Stark have to come back to Snow Falls, Ohio? And when would Bruce have the chance to leave Ohio? He'd better look at Tony while he could.

Bruce averted his eyes from Tony long enough to read DPW's estimate that the roads in town were already 80% clear. The snow had stopped falling sometime in the night. The average accumulation was 36 inches, though the wind had created some wild drifts. He shivered a little at the memory of being out in the storm, and then he cast another sidelong glance at Tony. No longer sleeping, Tony had propped his face up on one elbow and was watching Bruce with a wide smile on his face.

"Morning," Tony said, still smiling. "Any good news?"

Bruce smiled back. "It stopped snowing."

"Does that mean you have to go back to work?"

"Mm...eventually," Bruce conceded.

"But not right this minute?"

"Not right this minute." And then Tony kissed him hungrily. 

Bruce's romantic life had been on pause since he'd moved back to Snow Falls, for a myriad of reasons: he was too busy, he lived with his mom, the dating pool was too small...he lived with his _mom_. He'd thought he didn't mind, that he was fine on his own. But over the last 24 hours he'd had more sex than he'd had over the last four years, and he was forced to concede that he had perhaps been missing out on something. But maybe he'd just been missing Tony. And from Tony's enthusiasm, maybe he'd been missing Bruce, too.

After a very enjoyable start to the morning, they curled up together and watched some dumb reality TV show. Bruce hated to break the postcoital bliss, but eventually he decided to rip the Band-aid off and just ask. "So when's your flight home?"

"Mm. Whenever I want. I flew private."

"Oh," Bruce said, feeling silly for not having thought of that. Of course Tony had a private jet. In theory, Bruce opposed private jets as a massive waste of fuel and contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, but in that moment, Bruce thought he would personally set fire to an acre of rainforest for another hour with Tony. "So...we have some time?"

Tony nuzzled at Bruce's throat. "All the time in the world." The nuzzle turned into something deeper, and Bruce quickly found himself ready for another round with Tony, more leisurely than their first burst of morning passion.

After they'd cleaned up, Bruce pulled his borrowed sweatpants back on and padded over to the coffeemaker. While he waited for it to brew, he said, inanely, "These pants are so soft."

Tony smiled. "Aren't they great? I'll have to get you a pair. Or—just keep those."

"Oh, no, I didn't mean—"

"I know, but I want you to have them. I like the idea of you in my pants. Almost as much as I like you out of my pants." Tony gave Bruce a wink that made him feel actually weak in the knees, although some of that may have just been from general overexertion. 

Bruce brought two cups of coffee back to bed. He held his up in a toast and said, "Here's to reconnecting." 

Tony grinned and tapped his cup to Bruce's with an unsatisfying Styrofoam silent clink. "Here's to snow falling in Snow Falls."

**Text message from Mom**: Just checking, everything okay with you? Still at the Holly Days? You're not frozen in a ditch somewhere?

**Text message from Bruce Banner**: I'm fine. How are you and Cosmo?

**Text message from Mom**: We're fine! Didn't lose power. Cosmo let me put his booties on him without too much struggle.

**Text message from Mom**: You should invite Tony over for cookie decorating.

Bruce put his phone away and they picked at leftovers from Quantum Cafe for brunch. As thankful as Bruce was to have been snowed in with Tony, the room was starting to feel a little oppressive. Bruce looked out the window and saw that the roads indeed looked clear, though lined with huge piles of snow.

Tony came to stand beside him. "You need to leave?"

"I...should," Bruce said. He hesitated before saying, "But, um, my mom said I should invite you back to the house. If you want. But she'll understand if, uh, you need to leave."

Tony beamed. "I'd love to meet your mom. And I'm certainly not going to let you walk back."

Bruce grinned and planted a quick, affectionate kiss on Tony's cheek. He changed back into his clothes from the day before, which had more-or-less dried. After Tony packed up, they checked out of the hotel and made the short trek back to the Quantum Cafe parking lot. Bruce was glad that he still had his shovel, as he set to work unburying Tony's rental car from the haphazardly-plowed parking lot.

"My hero," Tony said.

"All in a day's work." 

Bruce slid in the passenger seat and directed Tony back to his mom's house. While they drove, he glanced over at Tony.

Tony caught him looking and asked, "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Eyes on the road! Watch for black ice."

Tony obeyed, a brief look of hurt crossing his face, and Bruce sighed. "Sorry. I was just thinking about how...the last time I saw you, we weren't old enough to drive."

"Oh. Huh. I guess you're right."

"Dating at boarding school was so weird," Bruce mused, and then he remembered that Tony had started going to boarding schools at a much younger age than Bruce had. And then he thought about how young they'd both been when Tony had lost his parents to a car accident, and he felt a sharp pang. "Oh, turn right at the stop sign. And...god, Tony, I know I said this yesterday, but really I am just _so sorry_ for not being there for you when your parents…"

"Hey. You didn't know. And I...I _did_ know that something was...not right, with your dad, and I didn't...I could have...I should have done _something_."

Bruce shook his head. "You couldn't have done anything, Tony. That situation was…well. I think it all turned out just about as good as it could have."

"You said he put you in the _hospital_."

"Oh, turn left after the school...yeah, I know, but he didn't _kill_ me. Or my mom. And I think...well, anyway. It turned out okay. Except I feel terrible about abandoning you. I should have known that you wouldn't have done that to me…"

"Well, I should have known that _you_ wouldn't have done that to _me_," Tony said.

"Well...now we know."

"Yeah. I'm really glad you invited me to Snow Falls."

"I'm really glad you came," Bruce said, deciding not to clarify that Darcy had actually invited him. "Oh, and turn left here, and then it's this one with the green mailbox...oh, my mom's already out shoveling the driveway!"

Tony half-parked the car while Bruce jumped out to hug his mom through her parka. "Mom! You should let me shovel."

"For heaven's sake, Bruce, I'm not the one who gave myself hypothermia yesterday. Go on inside and get your guest a drink."

But Bruce still had his shovel from yesterday, and he shook his head and started shoveling. He knew his mom was in better health than when he'd first moved home, but he still wanted to take care of her.

His mom conceded, "Well, it'll go faster if we both work together."

Tony came out of the car and said, "Here, let me help."

"Oh my goodness, you must be Tony! Lovely to meet you. No, you don't have any gloves, you'd better wait in the car. It won't do for our esteemed guest to get frostbite."

Bruce grinned and watched Tony and his mom engage in a hospitality-off, while Bruce quickly finished clearing out the driveway.

"Oh, dear," his mom said. "Well, thank you, Bruce. Now why don't we all go inside? Did you have lunch already?"

They'd eaten more leftovers at the hotel, and Bruce was afraid his mom would try to offer Tony frozen pizza, so Bruce said, "Yeah."

"Well, cocoa and cookies, then."

After Tony parked the car, they shed their outer layers while Cosmo affectionately investigated the newcomer. Tony offered Cosmo his hand to sniff and was met with approval, to Bruce's relief. 

"Hi buddy! I know you from Instagram!" Tony told Cosmo.

Bruce laughed. "Darcy will be thrilled to hear that her social media efforts have that kind of reach." He glanced down at his stale clothes. "I, um, I'm going to go change. And I'll give you a tour, Tony."

"Come to the kitchen when you're finished," his mom said. "I'll start heating water."

Bruce led Tony upstairs to his odd attic-bedroom, with its dormer windows and sloping ceilings and cardboard boxes tucked under eaves. It was clean, but sparsely decorated. Bruce had never intended to stay there for very long, and it showed.

Still, Tony asked, "Is this the house you grew up in?"

Bruce knew the house was small and modest by most standards, even if you didn't grow up in a literal mansion. But it was actually nicer than the house he'd grown up in, and much nicer than the apartments he and his mom had shared for the first few years after leaving Brian. He might not have inherited wealth like Tony's family, but he was proud of what his mom had accomplished.

Rather than go into all that, Bruce just said, "No, my mom moved here maybe five years ago? Well, she'd been renting it for a few years before that but the landlady sold it to her, cut her a really nice deal."

Tony eyed the yoga mat set up in one corner. "Ooh, you do yoga? No wonder you're so _flexible_," he purred.

Bruce laughed. "Well, my therapist recommended it, but I'm glad you got to enjoy the benefits of my practice." He changed clothes quickly, feeling shy even though Tony had already seen plenty of Bruce's body over the last day and a half. He pulled on a soft purple sweater from the top of his drawer, remembering too late that it had a hole in the armpit. He hadn't packed his meds when he'd impulsively run off into a blizzard, so he dry-swallowed a Lexapro with a sideways glance at Tony, who was now perusing the hefty stack of books and print academic journals by Bruce's bedside.

"Light reading?" he asked, amused, as he flipped through the latest issue of _The International Journal of Quantum Mechanics_.

"Oh...I try to keep up with my field."

"Mm. Impressive, Dr. Banner," Tony said, pulling Bruce in for a kiss that briefly made Bruce forget why he'd put his dating life on hold while living at home. 

But then Tony tried to intensify the kiss, and Bruce pulled away. "Wait, my mom's downstairs."

Tony laughed, good-naturedly. "Oh no, is this what dating was like outside of boarding school?"

Bruce took a deep breath and asked, "Is...that what we're doing? Dating?"

Surprise filled Tony's deep brown eyes. "Well—I'd like it to be. What do you think?"

Bruce exhaled. "Me too. I just wanted to make sure...I didn't want to presume. I mean, I know you're so...busy, and long distance relationships…" he trailed off, remembering how hard it had been after college, when Betty went off to UNC for grad school and Bruce had stayed in Ohio.

"Are awful," Tony affirmed. "But hey, we've got video chats. And a private jet. And...and I'm here right now." He leaned in and gave Bruce a chaste peck. "And we can see what happens?"

Bruce smiled. "Yeah." He took Tony's hand, twining their fingers together. "First up, let's see what happens when I ask you to decorate some cookies."

"Ooh, festive!" Tony squeezed Bruce's hand and asked, "Is this okay?"

"What?"

"I mean, us holding hands...in front of your mom?"

"Oh! Yeah, no, I mean...she's fine with me...dating guys and stuff, it's more just that, you know, it's awkward to...uh...do much beyond holding hands when she's downstairs. Whether it's with you or with a girl or anybody. This house has thin walls."

"Ah. Noted," Tony said, a sly smile playing on his lips. Bruce felt a flutter in his stomach, just the same as when Tony had given him that smile fifteen years ago. Maybe there were worse things than emotionally revisiting high school.

Downstairs, Bruce detoured back by the coat rack to dig Tony's old Christmas card out of the pocket of his parka. It was a bit worse for the wear, but Bruce carefully pinned it back up on the card wreath.

"See? It was just there, for all those years I guess…"

"I'm just glad it got to you eventually," Tony said. "God, your mom really goes all out for Christmas, huh?" He picked up one of the ceramic snowmen on the small entryway table; there were five of them and they all wore tiny scarves, hand-knit by Bruce's mom.

"Yeah, it's...well, we started creating our own traditions after my father left, and then we maybe got a little carried away," Bruce said with an apologetic smile. "We've hit up a lot of grandmas' garage sales over the years. I know it's kind of an overly kitschy aesthetic..."

"Not at all! I love it. It's so...homey," Tony declared. "And it smells great in here."

"Right, yeah, next stop is the kitchen." 

Bruce's mom handed Bruce a cup of tea and asked Tony, "What can I get for you? Coffee? Tea? Cocoa?"

"I'll have whatever you're having, thanks," Tony said, aiming his charming smile at Rebecca.

She smiled back and made him a cup of cocoa in a "Proud Buckeye Mom" mug, which Tony accepted with amusement.

"I heard you admiring our holiday decor," Bruce's mom said drily, proving Bruce's point about the house's thin walls.

Tony's eyes widened. "I meant it! It's so cozy. My mom always hired a decorator and it felt like we were living in a magazine."

"That's certainly not a problem we've ever had," Bruce said, but he smiled at Tony to show that he wasn't offended. He was quietly pleased that Tony was worried about his mom's feelings.

"I know, I know, rich people problems," Tony said cheerfully. "Regardless, it's a lovely home, Rebecca."

"Thank you, Tony. You've earned a cookie for that." She brought a plate over to the table. "Bruce, I figured you'd want to do the sugar cookies, but I got started with the chocolate chip this morning." 

Tony glanced at the plate, then at Bruce, and Bruce said, "We add red and green food coloring. They're not moldy."

"I'll be honest, I probably would have eaten them anyway," Tony said. He took a bite and sighed. "These are delicious!"

"It's just the recipe off the bag of chocolate chips," Bruce's mom said, with a dismissive wave.

"The secret ingredient is food coloring," Bruce said.

"And love!"

"Love and food coloring," Bruce agreed.

"Well, whatever it is, it works perfectly," Tony said.

Bruce's mom finished her drink and said, "Well, I'm going to go take Cosmo for a walk. If you two want to make sugar cookies, I made the dough this morning, so it had time to chill. Oh, and I got stuff to make scotcharoos and buckeyes, too."

"Thanks, Mom. Are you sure you don't want me to take him?"

She waved her hand dismissively. "Catch up with your friend. I'm happy to walk him, especialy now that the wind chill isn't so bad."

Bruce felt a flash of guilt. "Sorry for leaving you with him yesterday. I didn't mean to…"

She held up her hand to silence him. "Bruce, it was fine, you know I love Cosmo. Anyway, I just let him out for a few minutes to do his business and then he came right back in. We weren't going on any major treks. I'm just glad you were safe." She squeezed his shoulder on her way out of the room. "And Tony, thanks again for looking after him. I really appreciate it."

After she left, Tony said, "Your mom seems like she's doing really well."

"Oh, uh, yeah."

"I just mean, I know she had cancer."

"Oh, right. Yeah, she's been in remission for three years," Bruce said, forcing himself not to mention that it could still come back at any time. For the moment, Tony was right: she was doing really well.

"She looks so young."

"Well, she was young when she had me." They were veering toward topics Bruce didn't feel like discussing, so he pulled the cookie dough out of the fridge and everything he'd need to turn them into cookies, including their battered _Martha Stewart Living Holiday Cookbook_ to double check the baking time.

"Can I help?"

Bruce handed over his phone and said, "You can play DJ. It's connected to a Bluetooth speaker, I'm sure you can figure it out."

"Christmas music required?"

"Encouraged...but not required," Bruce said as he rolled out the dough. Tony hopped up to sit on the end of the counter and started tapping on Bruce's phone with determination. Bruce laughed as Tony pulled up an irritating Jingle Cats song, featuring poor felines meowing out "Jingle Bells." 

Tony followed it up with dogs barking "Carol of the Bells." Bruce was glad that Cosmo was still out for his walk, since this recording would undoubtedly set off a response from him. Even without Cosmo's input, it was still a pretty annoying song. Bruce said, "I can tell you're trying to ruin my holiday cheer, but that's impossible." He stood in front of Tony and offered him a cookie cutter. "Here, you can help cut out cookies if you want."

But Tony leaned forward and kissed Bruce. Bruce set down the cookie cutters and reached up to cup Tony's cheek, feeling the stubble that had grown out around his well-manicured goatee. He liked seeing Tony like this, dressed casually, sitting up on the kitchen counter like he belonged there. But they _did_ have a lot of baking to do, so eventually, he stepped back and Tony jumped down from the counter. Bruce washed his hands again while Tony studied their eclectic cookie cutter collection with an adorably furrowed brow. 

"Quick question, how is Darth Vader a Christmas cookie?"

"Oh, we have a whole set. Yoda's my favorite."

"Yoda makes sense, though, since he's green."

"Well, it's all in the frosting," Bruce said solemnly. "A red and green Vader is very festive."

"I guess I missed that action figure," Tony mused. He washed his hands and cut out a few cookies. "This has been a very educational trip for me."

"Education was one of my major campaign platforms."

"Somehow, that is so hot."

The festively barking dogs stopped for an ad, and Tony tapped Bruce on the shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"Didn't you hear? It said 'tap the Banner to learn more,'" Tony said. "Teach me something."

Bruce laughed in spite of himself. "Um...Ohio's state tree is the buckeye."

"Mmm. Keep going, I'm hungry for knowledge." Tony pressed himself up against Bruce's back and kissed at Bruce's throat.

Bruce sucked in a breath and paused his cookie cutting. "My mom could be back any second...and we have a lot of cookies to do."

"This seems like an excessive amount of baking for two people," Tony said, still draped around Bruce.

"We can do it. It's not that hard."

"I meant for two people to eat."

"Oh! Well, three. But my mom takes most of them to the hospital. It's rough to be in there over the holidays so she makes little baskets for patients and their families."

"Aww," Tony said. He gave Bruce a kiss on the cheek and stepped back. "Fine, I'll stop harassing the baker. For now."

"Anyway, we like doing it," Bruce added. He put the cookies in the oven and started making frosting. Tony picked up Bruce's phone; Bruce hoped it was with intent to change the music away from the Jingle Cats.

**Text message from Darcy Lewis**: Bruuuuce, heard you spent the night at the Holly Days Inn with Tony Stark!! Way to go!

**Text message from Darcy Lewis**: Can't believe you're going to screw your way to saving the toy factory. Honestly, iconic, I stan. Hope you used protection though.

**Text message from Darcy Lewis**: [eggplant emoji] [eggplant emoji] [eggplant emoji]

**Text message from Darcy Lewis**: Hope's going to be so relieved.

**Text message from Darcy Lewis**: Anyway, let me know when you're free, we should talk about staffing the warming shelters.

Bruce was dividing his freshly-whipped frosting into bowls to add different colors, when Tony said, "Hey, uh, tell your mom thanks for her hospitality, but I should get going." In the background, recorded cats kept mournfully performing holiday songs.

Bruce sighed. He'd known that moment was coming, but he'd been hoping to put it off for a bit longer. "Right now? These cookies will be done in like ten minutes."

"Yeah, sorry, just...some stuff came up at work, and I was really planning to be back last night, and, uh, the pilot said he got his new flight plan ready, so."

Bruce thought that with a private plane, Tony could probably ask the pilot to delay his flight plan, but maybe that wasn't how it worked. Bruce certainly didn't have any experience with that. "Oh. Okay. Do you want me to drive you?"

"No, no, I'll return my rental at the airfield. No point in you going out of your way."

"Well, I'll walk you to the door, at least." Bruce washed his hands and followed Tony back to the coat rack, where Tony pulled on his jacket while Bruce anxiously twisted his hands together.

Bruce put his arms out to give Tony a goodbye kiss; Tony kissed him back, but it seemed...less enthusiastic than before. But maybe he was just sad about leaving?

"Safe travels!" Bruce said, immediately feeling dumb for using the trite phrase. "Um, let me know when you get back?"

"Yeah, I just—I'll just be pretty busy," Tony said curtly. "I'm in charge of a lot of factories."

"Okay. Yeah, I understand," Bruce said, trying to mask his hurt. He should have known this happy weekend couldn't last.

Bruce waved out the window as Tony drove off, back to his exciting life in New York. Bruce went...back to his batch of sugar cookies. He searched his phone for better music to put on, and a text message popped up.

**Text message from Darcy Lewis**: Are you STILL in the bone zone with Tony? Good for you if so, but if not, we do have work to do.

**Text message from Darcy Lewis**: I bet you're so glad I invited him now, aren't you?

Bruce swallowed and scrolled up, reading Darcy's filthy previous messages and gaining a pretty good idea of what had sent Tony packing so abruptly. He called Tony's cell phone, which went to voicemail. Was Tony already in the air? Could you use your phone on a private plane? Bruce had no idea.

He left a message: "Hey, Tony, uh, it's me, Bruce, I just...I just saw the text messages Darcy sent earlier, and I'm guessing you saw them too, and I just...uh...I'm sorry for that, she's kind of inappropriate sometimes, but she was just kidding. And she knows how to be discreet, she won't tell anyone anything...except me...ugh. I, um, I'm really sorry, and, uh, I miss you already, and, uh...okay, well, bye. Sorry."

Bruce sat down at the kitchen table and buried his head in his hands, waiting for the oven timer to go off. At least he'd have a lot of cookies to drown his misery in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you missed this cultural phenomenon, or managed to block it out from your memory, I just want you to know that the Jingle Cats (and their followup act, the Jingle Dogs) [are real and on Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/artist/2ksOTbTmiFS9vEIpXN9tXb). 
> 
> Oh and about that other thing...don't even worry about it, a Hallmark Happy Ending is on the way, I promise! :-*


	8. Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

"...so yeah, I think he was just using me to save the toy factory," Tony concluded his story and punctuated it with a long swallow of bourbon. "It really sucks, because I really did like him but…well, I guess I should have known. I mean why else would he reach out to me after so long? If he wanted to talk to me, I'm literally the easiest person to find, but he didn't reach out until after he heard about the factory."

Rhodey, his braced legs stretched straight out in front of him on Tony's couch, pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I don't know, Tones. I mean, I told you I'd kick his ass, and I still will if needed, but...are you sure that's what happened?"

"Well, the texts I saw…"

"Have you talked to Bruce since you saw them?"

"Not exactly. He left me a voicemail, and some texts…"

"Can I see?"

Tony sullenly passed his phone over to Rhodey, revealing four messages sent at regular intervals over the past three days.

**Text message from Bruce Banner**: Hey Tony, hope you heard my voicemail, again, really sorry about those messages from Darcy. She was just kidding. I swear you'd like her if you met her.

**Text message from Bruce Banner**: When you have a chance, please let me know you got home safe. Again, really sorry about what Darcy said.

**Text message from Bruce Banner**: I assume you've gotten home safe by now, because if you didn't, it would be a pretty big headline. 

**Text message from Bruce Banner**: Well, I'm sure you're busy. It was really great to see you last weekend. If you want to talk, you know how to reach me now. Take care.

Rhodey said, "Tony, you know I love you, but is it possible that your ongoing sleep deprivation is impacting your judgment skills? Which, let's face it, were already fairly questionable?"

"What?"

"He didn't even say anything about the factory. Seems like he just wants to talk to you."

"Well, but…" Tony said. "But people in that town are so into the toy factory. It's a whole _thing_."

"Mm-hmm. Look, it's fine if you don't want to date the Mayor of Mayberry or whatever, but it sounded like you two had a pretty good time up til that point. I think you should at least reply to him."

Tony made a face, and Rhodey said, "Seriously, I think you're going on the naughty list if you ghost this guy. He walked through a blizzard for you!" He took a long sip of his drink and added, "C'mon, what if he had your phone and saw some of those texts from me? They'd make you sound pretty bad."

"Yeah, I guess." Tony crossed his arms over his chest. "You really think so?"

"I'm just saying, you don't walk through a blizzard unless you _really_ like somebody."

"But maybe he just really likes that toy factory."

Rhodey squinted. “Well, maybe. But I mean, you said he’s smart, right?”

“He’s a genius,” Tony said glumly. He remembered the first time he’d ever had to ask for help with his homework; Bruce had explained their physics problem set so elegantly it had made Tony want to kiss him. (To be fair: a lot of the things Bruce did back then made Tony want to kiss him. But still, Bruce was beyond smart, and Tony should know.)

“And you said he just handed his phone to you, right? You weren't digging through his pockets or anything?”

"Not this time," Tony said, earning a raised eyebrow from Rhodey.

"So if he's so smart, why’s he gonna give you his phone if he was conducting nefarious schemes?" 

Tony bobbed his head. “Huh. I didn’t think about that,” he admitted. 

"I think you should at least hear him out. Hell, if you're worried he's trying to seduce you to save the toy factory, you could just tell him that you're closing the factory but you'd love to see him again anyway."

"I'm not going to close the factory! I'm just going to convert it to a solar panel factory. Probably."

"Okay, well, tell him you're going to do that, then. Just to see what he says. If he's still into you, then…"

Tony nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. Maybe. I mean, sounds like kind of a dick move but...it's just been so hard to find people I can trust. After what happened with Obie and everything..."

"I get that. You know I do. What he did was _awful_. But...you know, it sounds like you and Bruce went fifteen years without talking because of a dumb misunderstanding. You really wanna risk another fifteen? You'll be pushing middle age by the time you get this one sorted out?" Tony inhaled sharply and shook his head. “Well, then, get on the phone with Mayor McCheese already.”

**Text message from Tony Stark**: Hey. Sorry, it’s been crazy here. Can we video chat later tonight?

**Text message from Bruce Banner**: …

“What’d he say?” Rhodey asked. 

“Uh, dunno, he’s typing.”

“You’re smiling like that just from typing?” Rhodey asked incredulously.

Tony flipped Rhodey off, but he _was_ happy to see that Bruce was responding. He wouldn't blame Bruce for being mad after two days of the silent treatment.

**Text message from Bruce Banner**: I’d love to! Out to dinner w/my mom right now but I’ll be home by 8.

**Text message from Tony Stark**: Great! Just lmk when you’re home, I’ll be around. Enjoy your dinner and tell your mom I said hi. 

**Text message from Bruce Banner**: Thanks. Will do :)

Tony smiled back at the tiny emoji. He already felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest and they hadn’t even talked yet. Rhodey was right, per usual: they could work things out. They _would_ work things out. 

Later that night, Tony sat in front of a computer and grinned when Bruce's face came into focus. He could tell from the background that Bruce was up in his oddly-shaped, thin-walled attic bedroom, with his dog's head just visible at the bottom of the frame. And as Tony's eyes adjusted, he saw the dark circles under Bruce's eyes, only partially masked by the frames of his glasses. He felt a flash of guilt as he understood that he'd probably caused Bruce to lose sleep. But Bruce offered a tentative return smile and said, "Hi."

"Hey. How was dinner?" Looking at Bruce's earnest face made Tony feel immediately stupid for being suspicious of him. He hadn't realized just how badly everything with Obie had messed with his head.

"Good. Taco Tuesday," Bruce said, with a one-shouldered shrug.

Tony licked his lips and said, "Look—I'm sorry for the radio silence."

"It's okay. I know you're busy." Even through the screen, Bruce's body language was visibly guarded. Tony wanted to hug him.

"Yeah, but...I could have texted. You were right, I jumped to conclusions when I saw those texts on your phone. And I'm sorry, I...I've been trying to keep it under wraps in the news, but…" Tony hesitated. He probably shouldn't even talk about this without another level of encryption, but fuck it, he didn't want to wait any longer to give Bruce an explanation. "I recently found out that my COO was preparing to sell our weapons to terrorists on the black market, without my knowledge of course. My assistant found out and we were able to stop the deal, just in the nick of time, and...and I know that's nothing to do with you but I guess it's made me a bit...wary. Especially, I mean, this guy had worked with the company forever, he'd been friends with my dad, and I'd...kind of thought of him as a father figure, but, uh. I guess that feeling didn't go both ways." 

Tony felt sick remembering the emails Pepper had found. The worst part—well, the worst part was realizing what could have happened if Pepper weren't so sharp. But the second-worst part was the casually cruel way Obie had talked about Tony in those emails, calling him "naive" and "clueless" and worse. 

Bruce nodded, a concerned look on his face. "I'm sorry. That's awful." 

Tony felt a burst of relief flood his system. He'd decided that he could trust Bruce, but there had still been a chance that Bruce wouldn't accept Tony's explanation, or worse, that he'd blame Tony for Stane's misdeeds. But Bruce seemed receptive. Forgiving. Tony let out a breath and said, "Yeah. So...everything I told you was true, about why I wanted to stop making weapons. I mean, it has been awful seeing Rhodey recovering from his injury and everything. But this thing with Obie and the black market was another one of the main reasons. Probably _the_ main reason. If I can't be in control of everything we make, well, I want to make sure that the stuff we make won't do harm in the wrong hands."

Tony still wasn't sure if he'd handled the situation with Obie correctly. He probably should have fought harder to have him arrested, but he'd covered his trail pretty well, and Pepper and Tony had managed to stop his scheme before any weapons had actually been sold. There was so little evidence of actual law-breaking, only evidence of him talking shit about Tony, which wasn't actually a crime. Tony's legal team had advised against getting the authorities involved, aside from sending an anonymous tip with the information they'd managed to glean about the terrorists. 

Tony had ultimately decided it would be a better use of his resources to restructure his factories and focus on moving forward, rather than to get bogged down with something that might completely ruin the company's name and reputation for little-to-no payoff. But Stane would never work for him again—would have a hard time finding a job _anywhere_, thanks to Pepper's whisper network—and Tony would be much more cautious going forward. But maybe in this case...too cautious.

"Yeah. Wow. That's good."

"It's just what needs to be done. But I, uh, I guess it just made me extra sensitive to people...using me. And I should have known that you weren't like that, because you're so…_you_." Tony shook his head, remembering how reluctant Bruce had been to take any gifts from Tony, back when they were roommates. "But I guess I thought maybe, for your town, you might...well, anyway, I'm sorry."

"I...I can understand that," Bruce said. "For my part, I want you to know that I didn't tell anyone else about our...history. I only told Darcy part of it because...well, I got upset with her for inviting you to the parade, and I wanted her to understand why."

"Wait, upset with her for inviting me? You didn't invite me?"

"I—well, I'm so glad you did come, Tony, really, but...no, I didn't think it was a good idea to invite you. Darcy suggested it, and I told her not to, but she did it anyway. But I mean...we hadn't spoken in fifteen years, and the way it ended...well, I thought it would be...hopeless to invite you," Bruce said ruefully.

"I was so excited to hear from you," Tony admitted. "But—that letter was kind of weird. I guess it makes sense that you didn't write it."

"Uh oh. What did Darcy say?" Bruce cringed.

"Oh, no, it was a perfectly nice letter, it just made absolutely no mention of...of our past. It was like it had been written by a stranger. Because it was, I guess."

"Well...god bless Darcy's correspondence skills."

"I'll drink to that!" Tony raised his drink to the screen. Bruce held up a mug of tea in response. Tony took a long drink and confessed, "Bruce, I really don't know what I should do about the toy factory. I mean, I want people to take my clean energy initiatives seriously, and I did pledge to convert _all_ of my factories. But the toy factory does seem different..."

Bruce's face closed off. "Oh, I don't want to talk about that, Tony."

Tony waved his hand dismissively. "Seriously. What do you think?"

Bruce rubbed his face with his hand before replying tentatively, "I think...that if you were talking about closing the factory, I'd obviously want to lobby against that, to protect my constituents' jobs."

"I'm not going to close it!"

"I know, I believe you. So beyond that, I really don't want to get involved with this decision." He worried his bottom lip with his teeth, and Tony wanted to kiss him.

"I just want your opinion. Should I convert the toy factory to make solar panels?"

"I think you should make the decision that you think is best." Tony stared at him, waiting for a real reply. Eventually Bruce filled the awkward silence by saying, "I'll admit that a lot of people in town are pretty attached to the toy factory, and I...I guess I don't see the harm in keeping it. Not like a weapons plant. And I have to imagine the cost in converting the machines would be considerable. You'd probably be better off opening a new factory, unless you want this to be a symbolic gesture. But...I think your Foundation is good, and if you think the StarKids factory can do more good for the world making solar panels than toys...I think eventually the workers will come to see your truth."

"Hmm. Good, diplomatic answer. You've got my vote, Mayor." Tony spoke lightly but he was flooded with relief that Bruce understood what he was trying to do. This wasn't about vanity. It was about doing the right thing. It was about saving the Earth. 

Bruce shook his head. "I mean it, Tony. It's your company. You know it better than anyone else does, certainly better than I do. I trust you."

"That's good to hear, even if I'm a little disappointed that you won't just solve my problems for me."

"You could come to the rescheduled parade on Saturday," Bruce said softly, a cautiously hopeful look in his eyes. "You might get a better idea of what the factory means to the town."

"Are you inviting me this time?"

Bruce smiled. "Yes. I'm personally inviting you to be the grand marshal of the Winter Joy Toy Parade. But...I understand if you're too busy."

Tony smiled back. "I think I can swing it. Will you send me the details?"

"Of course. But if you get anything inappropriate, it's from Darcy."

Tony pouted. "Really? You won't send me anything even a _little_ inappropriate?"

"What, and risk my political career?" Bruce asked with a laugh.

"I guess we wouldn't want that," Tony replied. His chest felt lighter now that Bruce was joking with him. "I guess I'll have to come get my inappropriate content in person."

They bantered with each other for awhile longer but Tony could see that Bruce was exhausted. "Hey, I'll let you go and get some sleep, okay?"

Bruce yawned. "I—yeah, sorry, I'm on kind of an early-to-bed, early-to-rise schedule, and I...uh...had some trouble sleeping lately. But I'm glad you called."

"Yeah. Well...hey, unless Mother Nature interferes again, I'll see you Saturday, okay?"

"Sounds good. Good night, Tony."

"Good night, Bruce." Tony stared at the blank screen, feeling rather than seeing the goofy smile that was on his own face. 

Rhodey was going to be very smug about this, but it was worth it.

Tony should have gone to bed too, but instead he went back down to his workshop, which was where Pepper found him the next morning. Since he didn't have to worry about Bruce, he'd freed up some mental computing power for his projects.

"Tony, seriously, you need to get more sleep," Pepper said.

"I slept last weekend! I got caught up."

"That is not how sleep works," she said firmly. 

Tony noticed her hands were full, and he asked, "Ooh, do you have presents?"

"Some mail. This came from Ohio," she said, putting a small, hand-labeled box on his desk. "And this came from your new lawyer's office," she said, handing over a courier envelope.

Tony opened the box from Bruce first, and smiled when he found it full of cookies. He took a bite out of sugar cookie Yoda's ear and asked, "Want one?" 

"The breakfast of champions," she said dryly, but she reached her hand toward the box.

"I helped make them!" She pulled her hand back quickly, and he clarified, "Well, I didn't help that much. More of a moral support. They're good!" He mentally kicked himself as he remembered running out the door before the cookies were even out of the oven. He should have just asked Bruce about the texts then, but he'd just been so surprised and upset.

"Ah." She nodded and took a star-shaped cookie.

"So what did the lawyers want?" he asked, licking frosting off his fingers. It really was a good cookie, perfectly light and buttery with creamy frosting, even if it wasn't fresh from the oven. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a homemade pastry.

"It's about that StarKids toy factory. They found some stuff in an old safety deposit box. I think you should read it for yourself. But wash your hands first!"

Tony rolled his eyes and shoved another cookie in his mouth before washing his hands. But he was glad he had followed Pepper's order when he opened the courier envelope from Jen Walters and found a yellowed envelope addressed to him in his mother's lovely handwriting; he would have hated to smear frosting on a letter from her. He swallowed hard as he read the message from his mom, and he immediately knew what he had to do in Snow Falls. Pepper helped him make the necessary arrangements. After everything was squared away, he laid down for a nap, finally feeling at peace.


	9. Santa Baby

Bruce tugged at the sleeves of his bright red velvet Santa coat and forced himself not to pull his phone out of the pocket of the matching red pants. He didn't need to look at his phone. It was on vibrate. He would feel it if Tony—or anyone—tried to get ahold of him. And surely Tony _would_ get ahold of him. Any minute now. No way was Tony going to flake out on him this time. Not without a very good reason, anyway. Sensing his agitation, Cosmo whined. Bruce reached down to scratch behind his ears, careful not to disturb the dog's tiny elf hat.

Darcy, looking not particularly festive in her maroon hat and black coat, asked, "You haven't heard anything from Tony?"

He shook his head miserably, then _finally_ felt a pulse in his pocket. "Oh!" He picked it up and answered it, relief flooding his system as he saw the name on the screen. "Hello?"

"Hey, Brucie, I'm so sorry!" Tony said. "I landed a little while ago, and I was on my way to the parade but my rental car broke down. I guess I should have called earlier but I was hoping I could just fix it and get back on the road again, but it looks like the fan belt snapped? So I can't do anything without the part. From the GPS it looks like I'm about halfway between Snow Falls and the airfield, so kinda far to walk either way... anyway, I tried calling an Uber but it looks like I'm out of range…"

In spite of himself, Bruce laughed warmly at his sweet city-slicker boyfriend. The tiny private airfield Tony used was much closer to Snow Falls than to Cleveland, where one could easily hail a rideshare. "Definitely out of range," he confirmed. "Um, but I'm sure someone could pick you up…"

Darcy made a grabbing motion with her hand. "Let me talk to him! I'll get it sorted out. You finish getting ready for the parade."

He looked at her warily and she said, "Seriously, I've got it under control! I promise to be on my most professional behavior."

"Fine," Bruce said. "Hey, Tony, I'm going to give you to Darcy, she'll get you set up. If she says anything inappropriate to you...well, I don't know what to tell you, she's uncontrollable, I can't be held responsible."

"Hey!" Darcy protested.

Tony laughed. "Okay. Thanks, babe, see you soon, I hope." But if Tony was halfway between Snow Falls and the airfield, he was at least a twenty-minute roundtrip drive away. They simply couldn't wait that long to start the parade. The children would riot.

Darcy took the phone and walked away, leaving Bruce and Cosmo to pace up the parade holding line. He smiled as adorable costumed children broke away from their groups to pet Cosmo, who looked irresistibly cute in his tiny boots and elf hat. Bruce spoke encouragingly to kids who were nervous about their first parade, and Cosmo wagged his tail for everyone.

Eventually, they made it to the front of the line where the parade's co-grand marshal, Sam Wilson, who'd led the high school baseball team to state last year, looked at him with amusement.

"Sup, Santa?"

"Hey, Sam. Look, I just want to thank you for being so flexible about all of this…" Bruce had already apologized profusely to Sam about the potential offense of sharing his treasured grand marshal status with Tony, but Sam had been very laid back about it.

"Yeah, of course. I mean, being in the parade is cool and all, but if sharing my ride with Tony Stark can help keep the toy factory in town, then I'm happy to do it," Sam said with an easy smile.

"Yes, and I appreciate that, but it looks like you might actually just be the solo grand marshal again," Bruce said. 

Sam raised his eyebrows. "After all that, he couldn't make it back?"

"He had some car trouble, but I just don't want to delay the parade much longer...the kids have already been out in the elements for awhile."

Darcy ran up to him. "Bruce! There you are." She handed his phone back. "Let's go ahead and get started. Sam, you're okay to grand marshal on your own?"

"Oh yeah, I was born for it."

"Great. Now Bruce, you and Cosmo get back to the end of the line, where you belong."

"Yes, ma'am. Sam...have fun!"

"Will do."

Bruce made his way back to the end of the parade lineup, pulling hard on Cosmo's leash to keep him from getting distracted by all the sights and smells. He checked his phone for messages from Tony. Finding none, he took a quick Santa selfie and texted it to Tony. He was a little bummed to receive no immediate reply, but he willed himself to keep a smile on his face as the parade started to move forward. It would be fine. Tony would probably get there in time to watch some of the parade, if not to participate. He'd get to see the town's love of toys, and he'd surely be there for the tree-lighting ceremony, and for dinner afterward.

Just as he and Cosmo were about to climb aboard their North Pole-themed float, he heard a breathless cry of, "Wait!"

Bruce turned and saw someone in an adorable elf costume. He blinked. It was _Tony_ in an adorable elf costume. He turned and half-ran to him, his smile growing.

"Tony! You made it!" 

Tony threw his arms around Bruce. Then he reached out to push Bruce's fake beard to the side and kissed him. He pulled back and asked, "Wait, this isn't going to traumatize any kids, is it?"

"Oh, they're all up ahead of us in the parade. Anyway, they know I'm not the real Santa, I'm just, you know, acting as one of Santa's ambassadors." Bruce reached out and wiped a smudge of engine grease off of Tony's cheek with his thumb.

"Yeah, but, what about Mrs. Claus? Should you really be out here kissing slutty elves?"

"Oh, I'm sure the Clauses have an arrangement," Bruce said giddily. "We should probably keep our hands to ourselves once the float gets moving, though."

Tony laughed and kissed him again.

"But we've got to get on the float now," Bruce said, adjusting his fake beard. "The parade's already started."

"Right. I'm sorry to be late. I should have left New York a little earlier but I just got caught up in my workshop, when I'm working on a project I just lose track of time. No matter how much I might be looking forward to seeing a cute Santa in Ohio."

Bruce felt himself blushing under the fake beard. "It's okay. How'd you get here so fast? I thought we'd have to start without you."

They climbed up onto the flatbed float, helping Cosmo with the steps, and Tony explained, "First of all, for the record, I would have been on time, if that car had been properly maintained. But anyway, it was actually really impressive, Darcy asked me for my _coordinates_ and then she sent me the spare part I needed via _drone_. One of the StarKids toy drones. It got there way faster than another car would have, and then it was easy for me to fix the car once I had the part. After which I...may have disregarded the speed limit. Slightly."

Bruce laughed. "Wow. You're a man of many talents."

"You have no idea," Tony said with a smirk. "But those drones are something else! Honestly, I wish I'd filmed it or something, it would be a great commercial."

Bruce resisted asking if Tony's enthusiasm meant that he would be keeping the toy factory open. After what had happened last week, Bruce really didn't want to get too involved with the question of the factory's fate, though he did have a soft spot for the toys. He said, "I bet you could do a dramatic re-enactment. And the elf costume?"

"Oh, this old thing?" Tony posed coyly, blowing a kiss at Bruce and waving at the cheering crowd. In general, Bruce preferred the behind the scenes work of being mayor to the more public-facing aspects of the job. The parade wasn't the worst, since he didn't have to talk and it was mostly kids in the audience, but still, it was much nicer to share the attention with Tony.

"Was it in your carryon? Is this your attempt at cold weather gear?" Fortunately, this weekend was warmer and much less snowy than the previous weekend, but it was still cold enough to appreciate the extra layer of velvet over his inner layers of clothing.

"No. Believe it or not, after I parked my car at the elementary school, another drone dropped this off for me."

"Oh, Darcy," Bruce sighed.

"She seems like a really dedicated deputy."

"No, yeah, she is. And she's hilarious."

Tony pulled a shiny medal out of his pocket and showed Bruce. "Yeah. She sent me this, too. It’s just what I hoped for."

Bruce quickly peered at it and laughed before handing it back. It read, "Hero of Snow Falls, Savior of Our Mayor."

"I’m surprised she didn't make me one that just says ‘Hypothermic Idiot,’" Bruce said wryly. He'd mentioned Tony's request for a medal, though he hadn't meant it seriously. Darcy had been positively enthralled by the story of Bruce’s blizzard adventure, not to mention smug about the part she’d played in reuniting Bruce and Tony. (Bruce hadn’t told her about the part she’d played in temporarily breaking them back up. He knew she'd be embarrassed to think that Tony had read those messages, and anyway, it wasn't her fault.)

Tony suggested, "Maybe she’s saving it for your Christmas gift. She also included a note offering to make me another medal if I agree to keep the toy factory open."

"That seems fair. I bet most places you do business with wouldn’t make you an offer like that."

"So true. It's always 'tax break' this and 'attempt at significant cash bribe' that."

Bruce snorted. "Hey, people are taking a lot more pictures of the parade than usual. I hope you’re okay with this getting out online," Bruce said, gesturing at Tony’s outfit. 

Tony grinned. "Why wouldn’t I be? Don’t you think I look good in green velvet?"

"Of course you do. It’s probably going to start a new trend."

They kept chatting with each other as they slowly moved past waving families. As was tradition, kids held up favorite toys, most of which were from the StarKids factory. Scott held up his daughter Cassie on her shoulders. Cassie waved frantically at Bruce and held up an elaborate winged doll that Bruce knew was one of Hope's newest prototypes. Next to them, Hope raised her eyebrows as she recognized Tony the elf. 

By the time they got to the end of the parade route, Bruce's face hurt from smiling. He led Tony back to his office in Town Hall, where they had fifteen minutes to change out of their Santa and elf costumes before the tree lighting ceremony. Or five minutes to change and ten minutes to make out with each other.

Bruce was in such a happy daze that he was practically on autopilot as he gave his short speech about the power of community serving as a light in the darkness, just like the candles they were about to place on the big pine tree in the town square. He knew the speech was fine—he'd recycled most of the content from last year's ceremony—but he rushed through it a bit, since he really just wanted to get down from the podium and back into Tony's arms as soon as possible. 

So he was surprised when Tony gave him a peck on the cheek and took the podium himself. Bruce blinked and watched as Tony smiled and said, "Hi. Hello. Uh, I'm Tony Stark, or you might recognize me as Santa's second cutest elf. No, I know I can't compete with Cosmo, but I did my best. Anyway, I'm very excited to see this tree lighting, but I hoped I could have just a few minutes of your attention first? See, I know a lot of you know that I recently discovered that the owner of your town's wonderful toy factory is, in fact...me. And I also recently announced my intent to convert all of Stark Industries' factories into production plants to help my green energy efforts, which I know has caused some anxiety to the hard-working employees of the StarKids factory. Now, I do believe that green energy is one of the best ways to help confront our planet's ongoing climate change. But. I...recently was given this letter from my late mother, Maria Carbonell Stark, and I'd like to share some of it with you."

Tony licked his lips and pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket. Bruce gave him an encouraging smile and listened as Tony read, "'My dear son, when I write this letter, you are one year old. Your favorite things are listening to stories, stacking blocks, and applesauce. You are especially good at stacking blocks.'" He looked up and said, "I hope that doesn't sound too braggy, by the way. I _was_ really good at stacking blocks, though. Uh, anyway, she said, some other lovely things, and then she said, 'And I know that one day you will grow up to inherit everything your father has worked for, all of these weapons of war. And I know these weapons keep us safe. But, perhaps I am naive, but I would much rather have another set of toy blocks to make you smile. And so I have designated part of your trust to include a toy factory, so that your inheritance will include not only war, but peace and joy.'" 

Tony took a deep breath, obviously choked up, and he said, "And...and that was the StarKids factory. That was the legacy my mother wanted for me. And I will accept and honor that legacy, and all of the employees of the StarKids factory are part of that. And will remain part of it. So please, rest assured that the StarKids toy factory isn't going anywhere. Thank you all for the work you have done to put more peace and joy out into the world, and happy holidays!"

Tony stepped down from the podium and Bruce pulled him into a tight hug. "Tony, that was so lovely."

"My mom was a lovely woman," Tony said wistfully. And Bruce wanted to kiss the sadness away from him, but he knew that wasn't possible. Instead, he gave him a quick peck on the lips and stepped up to try a different method of fighting the darkness. He lit a candle. He lit another and handed it to Tony, and another for Darcy. The high school chorus sang "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree," and Bruce placed his candle in its holder. He watched as Tony followed suit. Bruce let Darcy run the rest of the event. Unlike Bruce, Darcy thrived on being the center of attention.

Bruce found his mom in the crowd and handed off Cosmo's leash to her. Then he led Tony over to Thor's food truck, MYUMnir, to get cups of hot cocoa. Tony took a sip of the delicious beverage and asked, "Hey, I know this isn't the time to talk about this, but who would I talk to about setting up a scholarship fund?" 

"For what?"

"Well, all the factory's net profit—after paying workers and everything—has been going into an account my mom set up for me, and I'd love to invest that back into the town. Into the kids of Snow Falls. So I thought I could set up some scholarships in my mom's name? You know...for the ones who get admitted on their own merits but could maybe use help paying for it?"

Bruce gave Tony a warm, chocolatey kiss. "I can definitely help get the ball rolling on that. Maybe after the holidays?"

"Sure, that money isn't going anywhere in the meantime."

When the whole town square was lit by candlelight, Bruce and Tony threw away their empty paper cups and twined their fingers together. The Christmas carol singalong begun. Tony joined in, showing off his surprisingly good voice on renditions of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," "Silent Night," and "I Have a Little Dreidel" (Bruce had lobbied hard to make the town's ostensibly secular event, if not less Christmassy, at least more inclusive of other faiths, but thus far hadn't had too much success). 

When the ceremony concluded, Bruce took Tony back to the Quantum Cafe.

"This place again? Doesn't this town have any other restaurants?" Tony asked lightly, from the passenger seat of Bruce's Subaru.

"Um, yes, there are _tens_ of them!" Bruce said with mock-offense. "But some of them are chains, and I prefer the locally-owned places. And I have to admit, this is my favorite of those. They always have good vegetarian options, and I support Scott's mission."

"Mission?"

"Scott—he's the owner—gives preference to at-risk youth and ex-cons, people who have trouble getting hired elsewhere. They need references and experiences to get jobs, but without any references and experience—"

"—they can't get jobs in the first place," Tony said. "Ah. I get it."

"So, yeah, giving his employees a little experience, helping reduce limits placed on them by the uncertainty principle…"

"Clever. I'll have to think about that."

"You know, your business can earn a Work Opportunity Tax Credit for hiring convicted felon. I really don't know why more people don't take advantage of that...oh wait, I do, it's because of racism!" Bruce took a deep breath. "Sorry, I get kind of worked up about stuff like that."

"Noted. But I'm sure you're right...I'll definitely look into that program." Tony pulled out his phone and typed a note. 

Bruce smiled and said, "Thanks. Uh, I promise not to talk any more shop at dinner, okay?"

"You can talk about whatever you want, Bruce. I'll listen." 

"Well...for starters, let's talk about getting out of the car and into the restaurant?"

There was a wait for tables, but Scott discreetly bumped Bruce and Tony to the front—a perk of being one of the cafe's best customers. And also the mayor. At their table, Luis greeted them and rattled off an eclectic list of specials, then added, "And Mr. Stark, it is like, such an honor to have you here! That speech you gave at the tree lighting was like, hella moving."

"Thank you…"

"Oh! I'm Luis." Luis gestured at his nametag. Tony shook his hand, and Luis beamed. Bruce and Tony ordered their food—a seitan Rueben for Bruce and a turkey and cranberry sandwich for Tony—and settled back into their seats, smiling at each other across the table.

"Are you staying at the Holly Days Inn again?"

"No. Not to speak ill of the place that sheltered us in our hour of need, but Pepper booked me somewhere a bit nicer. It's in Cleveland though."

"Ah." Bruce tried not to sound disappointed; they were only about an hour from the outskirts of Cleveland, but still, it meant less time with Tony.

"I was hoping you'd come back there with me tonight?"

"Oh! Yes. Of course."

"And tomorrow...maybe you could come with me to look at some real estate listings?"

"Oh?"

"Pepper made some appointments for me."

"For...are you looking to build another factory?"

"No, no, residential properties. The thing is...I'm hoping to be more involved with the StarKids factory, maybe even expand it. And so, I'm looking at buying a house in the area. There didn't seem to be much on the market right here in Snow Falls, but...but I thought maybe having a little distance might better anyway? Just, for a little privacy from your constituents. And my new employees."

"You want to move to Ohio?" Bruce asked, stunned.

Tony gave a tentative smile. "I want to move to where you are. If—if you want me to."

"No, I do, of course, it's just...you live in New York."

Matter-of-factly, Tony said, "I'm currently based in New York, but I own a few houses in different places. Why not get one more? Especially when real estate prices are as cheap as they are in Ohio."

Dizzily, Bruce said, "Why not!"

"Look, I know you have two years left in your mayoral term, and I don't want to interfere with that. But...I don't want to wait two years to be with you, either."

"But we could—"

"I know, we could keep trying the long distance thing, but...honestly, I just don't want to. I can do a lot of my work out of anywhere. And I _hated_ being so far from you this week. I mean, I know we did a bunch of video chats but it just wasn't the same."

"Yeah. No." Bruce swallowed. He'd felt the same way, of course, wishing desperately to reach through the screen and touch Tony. But he'd figured the video chats were the best they could do, and they were better than the _nothing_ they'd had for so long.

Tony continued, "And, I mean, I'll still have to travel a lot for work, but at least I could take away one barrier for us? And it kind of makes sense, anyway, because it's a shorter distance to Silicon Valley. I make a _lot_ of cross-country flights."

"You're serious."

Tony nodded, his expression still tentative. "I know it's kind of fast, and I don't want to pressure you into anything…"

Bruce smiled. "We've already waited fifteen years. I don't think it's too fast."

Tony smiled back. "And hey, not that I minded keeping you warm, but maybe next time there's a blizzard in the forecast, we could pay a visit to my Malibu house?"

Before Bruce could respond to that lovely, impractical suggestion, Luis brought them their food and said, "Wow, you guys look super happy about these sandwiches."

Bruce's smile widened. "I _love_ sandwiches."

"Me too," Tony said. "I love sandwiches so much."

"Oh yeah, you know, I haven't thought about it too much but I guess I would have to say that I love sandwiches too. They're so versatile, you know?"

"Mmm-hmm," Bruce said, staring at Tony.

Luis seemed to grasp that they weren't actually talking about sandwiches and cleared his throat. "_Okay_! Uh, can I get you anything else?"

"No thanks, we're good," Bruce said.

"We're _great_," Tony said.

"Awesome," Luis said. "Well, I'll leave you to your...sandwiches, then."

Somehow, they made it through their sandwiches (which were, in fact, delicious) without committing any acts of public indecency. Bruce was thankful that they'd ordered food that could be prepared and eaten more quickly than some of the Quantum Cafe's more elaborate menu items.

"Can I get you any dessert?" Luis asked. "The special is a cranberry cardamom upside-down cake."

Tony glanced at the menu and asked, "Could we get an order of the coconut-chocolate mousse, to go?"

Bruce bit his lip and smiled. He'd never been so grateful to hear the words "to go." As much as he loved the Quantum Cafe, he was anxious to get somewhere pants-optional ASAP. Fortunately, Scott came by promptly to give them their to-go order and the check personally.

"Mr. Stark, glad to have you back!" Scott enthused.

"Please, call me Tony."

"Cool, cool, Tony. Uh, I was wondering…" he gestured at his celebrity photo wall, while Bruce bit back a grin, his desire to get out of the cafe briefly overridden by his amusement at Scott's awkward overture. "If I could take your picture? For the wall? I mean, if you enjoyed your food. Which I think you did because you've come back. Three times now! Not that I'm counting."

Tony smiled. "I'd be happy to."

"Really? Awesome, thank you, I'll be right back." Scott held up a finger and ran behind the counter, returning with a vintage Polaroid camera. Tony stood up and Scott took a picture of him smiling and offering two thumbs up. After breathlessly waiting for it to develop, he tacked it to a prominent spot on the wall.

"Hey Scott? Will you do me a favor?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, of course."

"Could you take another picture? For me?"

"Oh, uh, yeah!" Scott held up the camera and aimed it at Tony, but first Tony reached out for Bruce and pulled him up into a standing position. 

"A picture of both of us, I meant," he clarified. And then he turned and pecked Bruce on the cheek right before Scott clicked the camera. In the resultant Polaroid, Bruce looked surprised and so unmistakably happy. Bruce didn't usually like pictures of himself, but he really liked that one.

Tony beamed at the picture and held it like it was a precious treasure. "Thank you."

On their way out to the car, Bruce said, "We could have just taken a selfie, you know." Darcy had taught him about selfies as part of his campaign prep.

"I like the Polaroid. It's old-school. I'm going to frame it."

Bruce laughed and kissed his cheek before sliding in the passenger seat of Tony's rental car. "Do you mind if we swing back by my place first? I should pack a few things if I'm going to stay the night with you."

"Are you sure? You didn't bring anything last time and that seemed to work out okay," Tony said innocently.

"Well, I had my shovel…"

"Mm. Right, can't travel without your trusty shovel," Tony agreed. "But yeah, of course." He surprised Bruce by driving back to the house without asking for directions.

"Do you want to come in?" Bruce asked.

"If you want me to, I will," Tony said. "But honestly I'd rather hit the road as soon as possible so I can get you into bed as soon as possible."

"Right, we'll skip the mom small talk this time. I'll be right back!" Bruce threw a few key items into a backpack, asked his mom to look after Cosmo for the night, and ran back to the car.

"Impressive."

"Packing isn't the only thing I'm good at."

"Oh, I'm well aware," Tony said, heading for the highway as quickly as possible. They made it to Cleveland in record time, where Bruce discovered that Tony's new hotel really was _much_ nicer than the one in Snow Falls. They immediately broke in the high-thread count sheets and, much later, fell asleep tangled together under a comforter that probably wouldn't have given off a disgusting glow under a blacklight. It was the best Christmas present Bruce had ever gotten, and it was still weeks until the 25th.


	10. All I Want For Christmas Is You

Tony stood in the crowd of townspeople, watching proudly as Bruce gave his customary speech at the tree lighting ceremony for what he said would be the final time. Bruce had gotten better at public speaking over the course of his mayoral tenure. Tony was sure that Bruce could run for higher office and win, if he wanted. But Bruce had assured Tony that he didn't have that particular ambition. And Tony hadn't pressed too hard, even though he was pretty sure he'd make an amazing First Gentleman, because he was too happy to have Bruce on board as an educational consultant for StarKids' new line of educational STEM toys.

"...so, I just wanted to thank you all. It has really been an honor to be your mayor for the last four years. And I'm so happy and proud to be turning over Town Hall to my dear friend and brilliant deputy mayor, Darcy Lewis, as of January 1st. But for tonight, let's once again light these candles to shine through the darkest season."

The townspeople applauded as Bruce lit a candle and approached the tree. But then Tony took a deep breath and made his move. He pulled out his own candle and ran up to the podium. Bruce turned back to look at him with surprise. 

Tony glanced at the crowd but turned his eyes back to Bruce as he said, "Hi, happy holidays! I just wanted to thank you all for sharing your town and your mayor with me for the last few years. It's been wonderful getting to know you and your traditions, and I truly love this lovely annual tree lighting ceremony. And so I couldn't think of a better time to do this…"

The crowd gasped as Tony went down on one knee and lit his candle. Bruce covered his mouth with one hand, but his eyes shone in the candlelight. Cosmo wagged his tail at Bruce's feet. Tony had written out some notes on his phone but he left it in his pocket and went off the cuff. It was easy to talk about how much he loved Bruce. 

"Bruce, you're the best person I know. You're so smart, and kind, and cute…_so_ cute," he emphasized, as the crowd laughed. "It's been incredible to see you working so hard to make a difference here in Snow Falls, and such a privilege to be by your side for it. And I want to stay by your side for whatever comes next. I love you so much, and I was wondering if you'd do me the honor of marrying me?" He held the candle up to Bruce, revealing the ring he'd slipped around its base.

Bruce laughed and nodded and said, "Yes, Tony, yes, of course! I—hang on, let me—"

"Let _me_," Darcy said, as she swept in and took Bruce's lit candle away from him, along with Cosmo's leash. She placed the candle on the tree while Bruce took Tony's candle and blew it out. Tony stood up and threw his arms around Bruce.

"I love you," Bruce murmured, pressing a kiss against Tony's lips.

"Thank god, this would have been really awkward otherwise."

"Mm-hmm."

"Here, let me—" Tony slid the ring off the candle and lovingly placed it on Bruce's finger.

Bruce looked at his hand and then beamed at Tony. Tony beamed back and asked, "Hey, was this the first gay marriage proposal at the tree lighting ceremony?"

"I think it was the first proposal of any kind at the tree lighting ceremony," Bruce said. "It's not usually an open mic situation."

"So we're making history!" Tony kissed Bruce and smiled. Shortly after his impulsive decision to move to Ohio, he'd pulled Darcy aside to ask if he should be worried about hate crimes. He hadn't been sure Bruce would give him an honest answer, but he knew Darcy would.

"Oh, what, because we're a small Midwestern town everybody here is homophobic?" she'd huffed.

He'd squinted at her. "So you're saying they're not?"

"No! I mean, sure, there are a few assholes, but that's true everywhere." Tony nodded in acknowledgment of that. Darcy added, "We elected Bruce, didn't we?"

"That's true," Tony allowed. "But he was single then."

"Ugh, you coastal elites think you invented equality. Iowa had marriage equality before New York did!"

"Did you say Iowa or Ohio?" Bruce had complained about how ignorant East Coasters were about the geography of the "flyover states," but he was pretty sure that Darcy had just said "Iowa."

"I said Iowa. Ohio...didn't...but...that's not the point!"

"Okay, okay. So…what is the point?"

"Look, Tony...the bottom line is, people in this town like Bruce. And everybody can see that you make Bruce happy. So that makes them like you too. Okay?"

"Okay," Tony said, with a smile.

"Except like, Mr. Osborn, but honestly he's such an asshole, he doesn't like anybody. So don't worry about him."

"I won't." 

"Of course, if you hurt Bruce, there _will_ be a Beauty and the Beast-style mob to run you out of town with like, pitchforks and stuff."

Tony held up his hands, palm out. "I assure you, that's not my intention."

"Good, then," Darcy said, with narrowed eyes. She pulled a tazer out of her purse and said, "Because I'd be right there at the front of the mob."

"Jesus, put that away!"

She'd smiled and put it back, to Tony's relief. 

For the most part, Darcy had been right. Tony had been accepted by the people of Snow Falls remarkably quickly. Of course, his support of the toy factory hadn't hurt anything in that regard, either. He was pretty sure that Darcy was also right that if anything ever happened between him and Bruce, the entire town would be #TeamBruce. But that was fine with Tony, since he was also #TeamBruce. 

And now, as he looked around the crowd at the tree lighting ceremony, he saw nothing but smiling faces. The whole town was sharing in their happiness. Tony reached over and held Bruce's left hand, gently stroking the ring.

"Hey, do you think anyone will notice if we leave early?" Tony asked.

"I think everyone will notice, but I think they'll understand."

"Okay, good, because I think we have time for some engaged couple relations before our engagement party."

"First of all, is that really the sexiest way you could think of to describe that?"

"It's like marital relations but we're not married yet."

"Yeah, no, I got it, just...second of all...engagement party?"

"Oh, yeah, I rented out the Quantum Cafe tonight. I already invited everyone but I told them it was a surprise retirement party for the end of your political career."

Bruce grinned. "You're so sneaky."

"Which you love about me, right?"

"Right."

"Okay. Good. Anyway, since everyone's here, no one will know if we defile the mayoral desk one more time before turning it over to Darcy?"

"I really do love the way you think," Bruce breathed. "Let's drop Cosmo off with my mom." Bruce took Tony's hand and led him over to reclaim his dog. 

Darcy leaned in and whispered loudly, "Remember what I said about the green sweater!"

Bruce blushed and laughed. "I remember," he said. Then he led Tony and Cosmo through the crowd, giving polite smiles and nods to friendly townspeople as they passed.

"Hey, what did she say about the green sweater?" Tony asked.

"Oh, nothing."

"No?"

"Just, um...that if I wore it to that first dinner with you, then I'd have to invite her to our wedding. Which of course I would anyway!"

Tony smiled. "You _do_ look great in that green sweater. But I love you in all your sweaters, even the ugly ones."

"Aww." Bruce squeezed Tony's hand and didn't even bother trying to defend any of his hideous sweaters. When they located Rebecca, she hugged them both, a huge smile on her face.

"Hey, Mom, I was wondering if we could leave Cosmo with you for—"

"Yes, of course, give me my sweet grandpuppy and tell me no details about where you're going."

Bruce laughed sheepishly and handed over the leash. Tony said, "I promise to take very good care of your son."

"I said no details, Tony! But have a wonderful time!"

"Thanks, mom, I love you and we'll see you at the party," Bruce mumbled. He took Tony's hand again and dragged him back toward Town Hall. Tony slipped his hand into Bruce's back pocket after they were clear of the crowd in the town square. He leaned in to nuzzle Bruce's neck while Bruce keyed in his access code for Town Hall.

"Hurry up," Tony whined. He gently bit Bruce's earlobe for emphasis.

Bruce sighed and shoved Tony through the door when it clicked open. They stumbled breathlessly into the mayor's office, and Bruce locked the door before they could get any further. As soon as it was locked, Tony wasted no time in peeling Bruce's fuzzy sweater over his head.

After they'd had a hasty round of illicit engaged couple relations, Bruce sat back in his big office chair, and Tony curled up on his lap. "I'll miss this," Tony sighed, gesturing an arm out at the office.

"It's not actually that comfortable. You just like the idea of it."

"No, no, I like a lot about it," Tony protested. He really had loved getting to see Bruce as mayor, and not just for the admitted thrill of being with the man in charge. There were definitely parts of the job that had been stressful and exhausting for his introvert partner (fiancé!), and sometimes Bruce still lost his temper at inopportune moments. Nut mostly, Tony had been so impressed watching Bruce work. He'd always known that Bruce was smart, but he was also compassionate and stubborn; Bruce was able to come up with ambitious ideas and convince community members to buy in. His legacy would include a community compost program, a bold new STEM initiative for the schools, and incentives for installing solar panels. But Tony was sure that Darcy would continue in Bruce's footsteps.

Bruce _was_ right about the comparative comfort of the mayoral office. Tony's office in New York, for example, was much better suited for sexual activity, as was the new workshop he'd built in Snow Falls. Going forward, their relationship certainly wouldn't suffer for lack of hookup spots.

Tony leaned in and kissed Bruce's shoulder. "But I like being anywhere with you."

"Good. It would be very unseemly of you to have _relations_ with anyone else in my office, particularly since we're betrothed," Bruce said primly.

"A scandal! The townspeople would run me out on the rails."

Bruce laughed, and Tony felt it in his own chest. "Well, lucky for you, we're pretty far from the nearest Amtrak station."

"Lucky for me, I only have eyes for you."

"Mm," Bruce sighed.

Tony cleared his throat, not too proud to fish for a compliment. "And?"

Bruce blinked. "Of course I only have eyes for you. Who could possibly compare with you?"

Tony smiled and pressed another kiss to Bruce's lips. "Good answer, Mr. Mayor."

"You know I've been a lame duck since November."

"Still. I think it's like how former presidents, you always address them as President even when they're not in office."

"It's definitely not like that."

"Well, maybe we can try some roleplaying. You know how attractive men in power are."

Bruce eyed him skeptically. "You know you're actually about a thousand times more powerful than the mayor of Snow Falls, right? Practically speaking?"

"Yeah, but my title doesn't sound as good as yours," Tony whined.

"So in your roleplay, I'll be the mayor and you'll be, what, the pizza delivery person?"

"I'll be your naive young intern," Tony said batting his eyelashes.

"Aw, that's not sexy."

"It's just for pretend."

"No, I don't like it," Bruce said firmly. Tony knew he shouldn't have let Bruce pick that Monica Lewinsky documentary for movie night.

"Fine, you be Santa and I’ll be a naughty elf," Tony said, squirming in Bruce’s lap for emphasis.

"This mayoral roleplay has taken a real turn."

"Well, Santa is the mayor of the North Pole."

"That is not part of the established Santa lore. Although I guess we do already have the costumes..."

"Really? I thought that’s why you were Santa in the parade."

"No, it’s just a separate, unrelated tradition. I don't know if the North Pole has a mayor. I think they might just be self governing."

"Hmm. Okay, what about, you’re the mayor, and I'm...the owner of a toy factory in your town, and you have to seduce me to keep me from closing it."

Bruce laughed. "Okay, yeah, I can work with that." He kissed Tony. "But let's try it out later. Don't we have a party to get to?"

"Mmph. We can get there fashionably late?"

"That's rude."

Tony sighed. He really did love Bruce's strong moral code, even when it got in the way of his plans. "Fine, yes, I suppose." He ran his fingers through Bruce's unruly hair, smoothing it back into place as best he could. They quickly redressed and left Town Hall, carefully turning off the lights and locking up behind them.

The Quantum Cafe was cheerfully decorated with tinsel and twinkle lights. When they arrived, Luis was putting the finishing touches on the taco bar, and Rebecca was arranging a table of desserts.

Rebecca smiled warmly when they entered. "Oh! Hello again. Congratulations, you two, and thank you again for not giving me any details about where you've been." She embraced each of them in turn. "Tony, what a lovely proposal. I'm so happy you'll be joining the family. Officially."

"Thanks, Rebecca. Me, too." Tony knew the cliche was for everyone to hate their mothers-in-law, but he'd really enjoyed getting to know Rebecca over the past two years. It helped that Bruce clearly wanted the two of them to get along, and both Tony and Rebecca would do almost anything to make Bruce happy. But Tony genuinely loved Rebecca. 

Tony had initially harbored some slight resentment toward her for what she'd let her ex-husband do to Bruce, but as he got to know her, he came to understand just how much more she'd done to shield and protect Bruce, how truly trapped she'd been and how she'd done the best she could with the shitty hand she'd been dealt. 

Tony still missed his mom, and always would. He wished she could have met Bruce, but he knew that she would love him. He knew, too, that she'd be proud of the continued success of the StarKids toy factory, as well as the robust scholarship program it helped fund.

Having Rebecca in his life now would never replace Maria, but he was still glad to have her. She was kind and loving, but also tough as nails. Since their first meeting, she'd always received Tony warmly and never held it against him that her impulsive son had wandered into a blizzard on his account. He'd been just as thrilled as Bruce when Rebecca passed her five-year cancer-free milestone, meaning the odds were very good that it wouldn't recur. 

Plus, she made the most amazing cookies. He stared hopefully at the desserts table and turned puppy-dog eyes on her. "And...are those buckeyes?"

She laughed. "Yes, I know they're your favorite."

"I really can't believe you guys have been hiding them here in the Midwest all this time. There should be trendy buckeye pop-up bakeries up and down the coast." Tony shoved a bite of chocolate-peanut butter-deliciousness in his mouth with contentment.

"Now, Tony, you know we love you, but we _will_ have to kill you if you go revealing our secrets to outsiders," Rebecca said.

"_Mom._"

"He knows the rules, dear."

Tony mimed zipping his peanut butter-coated lips. "My lips are sealed. Anyway, that's more for me, I guess."

"More for _our guests_," Bruce said.

Tony stole one more and with a pout, said, "There's plenty for them."

Scott called, "I think we're ready to open the doors?"

"Yeah, I guess," Tony affirmed. He snuck one more sweet kiss from Bruce before following Scott to greet guests. Everyone they cared about had turned up for them. Pepper, Natasha, Rhodey, and Carol had all come in from New York. (Tony had told _them_ the real reason for the party; he wasn't sure a small town tree lighting ceremony and mayoral retirement party would have lured them west of Newark.) Tony's New York friends had all met Bruce before, but this was their first trip to Ohio. They crowded around Tony and Bruce, cooing over Bruce's ring while Bruce looked faintly overwhelmed. 

"Hey, nice speech at the tree lighting," Pepper told Bruce.

"Oh! You guys were there?" Bruce asked. "Sorry, I didn't see you in the crowd."

Rhodey swallowed a bite of grasshopper taco and said, "Yeah, Tony gave us a heads-up that we should check it out. Said it might be more exciting than usual. Even though, uh, I'm sure it's usually thrilling."

"It was very romantic!" Pepper said.

"Yeah, it was," Bruce agreed with a soft smile.

"Why don't you ever do anything romantic like that for _me_?" Carol asked, turning a glare on Rhodey.

"I...took you on this romantic weekend getaway...to Ohio?" Rhodey offered weakly. She shook her head, and he said, "And I took your cat to the vet last week?"

"Okay, yeah, that was pretty romantic," Carol conceded with a smile.

"I mean, it's no elopement to Paris, but it was pretty good, I guess," Natasha said, smugly putting her arm around her wife's waist. Pepper leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"So, are you guys moving back to New York now that Bruce's term is up?" Rhodey asked.

Tony glanced at Bruce, who shrugged and smiled. "I told Tony he could pick," Bruce said. "Since I kind of picked Ohio."

"Well...I think we're going to travel for awhile, at least. The Malibu house has been getting pretty neglected, and I think we could both do with a break from shoveling," Tony said fervently. "And then...we'll see." He knew Bruce had never had much of an opportunity to travel, and Tony wanted to give that to him. 

But Tony really hadn't minded Ohio as much as he thought he would. Of course, it helped—a lot—that Bruce was there. But it was peaceful, too. Tony was more relaxed in Snow Falls than he was in New York. He'd even managed to achieve something approaching a normal sleep schedule.

He'd thought small town life might be claustrophobic, and it was true that everyone seemed to know everyone's business here. But then, everyone knew Tony's business everywhere, and nobody in Snow Falls had ever sold any pictures or tips to TMZ.

"I think between the factory and my mom, we'll always have cause to come back to Ohio. But...we probably don't have to live here year-round, especially now that my mom's health is so good," Bruce said.

"That's great," Rhodey said. "Well, you know, New York has a lot to offer for it." He pointed both thumbs at himself and grinned, while Carol rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Especially since you're marrying rich, so you won't have to deal with the subway," Natasha added.

"I like public transit," Bruce said mildly.

"Spoken like someone who's never gotten stuck on the F-train," Carol said.

"'Stuck on the F-train' sounds like a euphemism," Tony mused.

"Ugh, spoken like someone who's never once set foot on the subway," Carol said.

"I have so!" Tony protested. "A...couple of times!"

His friends laughed at him good-naturedly, and Bruce slipped away to get more tacos and talk to some of his friends from Snow Falls.

"Seriously, congrats, Tony, I'm really happy for you," Rhodey said sincerely. "And I'm really glad I never had to kick Bruce's ass."

Tony laughed. "Me too, Platypus."

Darcy appeared at Tony's shoulder and said, "Hey, threatening the mayor is a crime punishable by tazer."

"What?" Rhodey asked.

"Stand down, Darcy. This is Rhodey, he's a friend, of mine and of Bruce's, and he's not going to hurt Bruce. I promise." Tony had gotten very fond of Darcy over the last two years. He appreciated her snarky sense of humor, but she definitely could be a little bit intense. It was an intensity that he thought would benefit her in politics—she would work hard for her constituents, no matter what. But, Tony knew from experience, it could be a little off-putting when a person was first getting to know her socially.

"Yeah, I know he won't, because I'll taze him."

Rhodey surveyed Darcy, who was several inches shorter than him and certainly hadn't been through Air Force basic training. He offered a smile and a hand to shake. "Hey, no hard feelings, I was just trying to look out for my best friend after a, uh, misunderstanding. Kind of an inside joke."

Darcy studied Rhodey in turn, then nodded and put her tazer back in her purse. She shook his hand. "Okay, I can understand that."

Rhodey said, "That's a relief. I'd hate to be on your bad side."

"Yes, you would," Darcy said proudly.

The party went well into the night. Everyone waited their turn to congratulate Bruce and Tony; the room was bursting with sincere warmth, and not just because of the open bar Tony was paying for. Scott produced a karaoke machine and the citizens of Snow Falls showcased their vocal talent (or lack thereof) for hours. Thor unexpectedly brought down the house with his rendition of "Immigrant Song," which he followed with a long, drunken speech about how much he loved Jane and how much he loved Ohio and how glad he was that fate had led him here, until Jane finally dragged him away from the microphone so Luis could have his turn to sing an ill-advised attempt at "Bohemian Rhapsody," which eventually got half of the crowd helping him out while the other half cheered. (Tony tried to help; Bruce cheered.)

When they finally stumbled out of the cafe, it was snowing gently, and there was a thin blanket of snow over everything. Tony started the car, running defrosters and seat heaters, while Bruce brushed off the snow. He watched fondly as Bruce took his long-handled brush from car to car, quietly helping his neighbors. When Bruce came back inside the car, his glasses fogged up. He took them off, revealing snow-encrusted eyelashes and flushed cheeks. Tony leaned over to kiss him. 

"I know it's not snowing that bad, but it's pretty late, so we could stay at my mom's place tonight if you don't want to drive back to your house," Bruce offered.

Tony briefly weighed his desire not to make the twenty-minute drive back to his house (since Bruce had to maintain his legal residence in Snow Falls, he'd never quite gotten to think of it as _their_ house) against his desire to do things to Bruce that would be thwarted by the thin walls at Rebecca's house.

Bruce put his glasses back on and laughed at the expression on Tony's face. "It's really up to you, love."

"I'm just weighing my options."

"She did mention she had leftover buckeyes in the fridge."

Tony bit his lip. "Okay. Yeah, let's go to your mom's tonight. I'm sure the roads will be cleared in the morning so we can get some privacy."

"If they're not, you'll have to compose a sternly-worded letter to the mayor about it."

"Oh, I'll show up at his office and give him a real piece of my mind," Tony said suggestively.

"Mm, I bet he won't know what hit him."

Tony pulled out of the parking lot and made the familiar drive to Rebecca's house, shining brightly with strings of solar-powered Christmas lights on the roof. "Wait," Tony said, as Bruce fumbled with his keys on the front step.

"Oh?" Bruce turned, and Tony kissed him as snow fell softly around them.

"I just wanted to kiss you while snow falls in Snow Falls."

Bruce laughed and kissed him back. 

Eventually, Tony sighed and pulled away. "Your mom will murder me if you get frostbite on her doorstep."

Bruce smiled mischievously. "I guess we'd better go inside and huddle together for warmth, then."

And so they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! If your teeth haven't already rotted from all this fluff, [here's a recipe for buckeyes](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/9909/buckeyes-i/), the Midwestern treat that Tony's so (rightly) enamored with.


End file.
